


The Tea Maker

by Honeyglow



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Attack on Titan AU, Cunnilingus, F/M, Levi Ackerman Needs a Hug, Male Masturbation, Oral Sex, Original Characters - Freeform, Semi-Public Sex, am i doing the tags right, blowjob, public fingering
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:27:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 24,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29514591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honeyglow/pseuds/Honeyglow
Summary: You secretly pine for Levi Ackerman, captain of his squad in the scout regiment. You tend a flower shop, hoping one day he'll catch your eye and stop by.
Relationships: Levi Ackerman & Reader
Comments: 10
Kudos: 31





	1. The Children

Your eyes open up and fall on the beige rippled ceiling in your living room. As your brain starts to wake up, you remember why you were on the couch in the first place. It was summer time, August to be exact. Every August you had to file through all receipts to make sure your business was in check, that no finances were being messed up. 

Sighing, you sit up and rub your neck which is stiff as all hell. Birds were starting to chirp outside and you could see the early morning orange and pinks burning through the sky through the window. “Early enough, eh?” You get up and stretch, making note to actually take time to stretch out your muscles and joints later as you want to stay nimble in your youth. 

You hear stirring coming from the further end of the house, which is above the family flower shop that your parents passed down to you after their passing. You shudder remembering the pieces that were identified as your mother, as the memories haunt you from time to time. Your two brothers come out of their shared room at the same time, trying to shove each other out of the way for the first use of the bathroom. You smiled and waved, knowing they could do no more than grunt back at you. They were not morning people at all. Kory and Dillon both towered over you, even though they both were younger. Kory at 18, and Dillon at 21. You yourself were 25, and not exactly happy you were single as the oldest sibling. Even though you were basically fine with the fact, given you had a business to attend to by yourself every day of the week.

Kory had short buzzed brown hair, and was proudly the youngest current member of the Levi Squad with the scouts. His goal since he was young, and oddly enough, made it reality. He didn’t have anything crazy fueling him, like revenge. He simply just wanted to be put to use and have something to keep him busy and working hard every day. 

Dillon was the tallest, and more popular child. Women flocked to him for his fair hair and bright blue eyes, and his position as a member of the military police helped too. He wanted to live comfortably while able to spend his earnings however he wished. Women, booze, outings. The alcohol was a consistent problem, so you always made sure you were the only one in the house who knew where the business funds laid. Not that you didn’t trust your brothers, but you knew you couldn’t afford a sudden loss. It’s not like a flower shop earned terribly much to begin with, given the fact that you lived in a titan suppressed world and none could venture outside the walls, except for the scouts themselves. You envied Kory, but also worried sick about him. You were always overprotective of him, given that he was the youngest sibling and you two seemed to have a stronger connection as you got older, as Dillon became more distant. 

“There’s apples and a loaf of bread on the table for you boys! I’m going to get downstairs and make sure the shop is presentable!” You called, not waiting for an answer. You took pride in your work, especially since you had to study yourself on botany and anthology. After a titan attack when you were little, you lost your mother to a rather bloody scene on your street, and for a few years after the fact, you dealt with your father becoming an alcoholic, drowning himself in the fact his wife died so gruesomely. He finally passed away when you were 16, body shutting down from the poison he put in his system day and night. You were left to take over the shop by yourself at that point, which was already planned, just not so soon you would’ve thought. And on top of that, you had to help finish raising your younger brothers. Business was rough, since no one trusted a young girl to sell them fruitful flowers, but once you started studying day and night, and cross bred different flowers in your room upstairs, you eventually ended up silencing the same people who refused to give you service.

The shop wasn’t extravagant, and you were hoping to save up some more money by the end of the year to at least do some sort of repairs or sprucing up during the winter time, when you hardly had much to sell at all. Plans were already circulating in your brain on how to keep business going with different products to sell. Usually you ended up doing odd jobs through the winter to continue bringing money in, even though both of your brothers try talking you into just staying home and taking it easy for once. 

After you did the first initial sweep of fallen leaves, dirt and dust on the floor, Kory came downstairs in his scout uniform, minus the ODM gear. “Sis, you didn’t get to rest until late last night. Why the hell are you up so early right back into it? Did you eat?” he said in his deep voice, biting into his own apple as he had another one outstretched to you. You had a bad habit of skipping meals and leaving the food for the boys.

“You know I try to save breakfast just for you guys.” You said sheepishly shrugging, but you also knew Kory would get upset if you denied his offering straight up. Sighing, you took it and gave him a smile. “Love ya.” You said, earning a roll of the eyes. Kory and Dillon both were actually awkward to show affection towards each other and you. You knew they loved you, but they were also shy and don’t like to verbally show affection if they can help it, for whatever weird reason. 

“We have a meeting to attend to today,” Kory started, earning a glance from you as you finished sweeping. You both knew what that glance meant, and you tried to hide your smile from him, but he knew you all too well. “And I’m sure we’re going out on a mission, since we’re all required to be there..” he trailed off, waiting for the moment you would jump in.

You were already one step ahead of him, walking to the service counter and pulling out a box labeled “Special Tea”. Kory knew you had a secret pining for his Captain, and therefore once he told you shortly after joining the Squad, that Levi was a tea drinker and a very particular one at that, you did all you could to start making your own tea mixtures. The only interactions that you and Levi had together so far had been his knowledge that you send tea with your brother to the squad meetings, and Kory would let you in on what exactly Levi thought about the brew. 

“Please tell me if he likes this one. I have a good feeling about this batch! I tried to experiment with the fact that fall is around the corner and I want to get the taste just right!” Kory grabbed the box from you and smiled, nodding his head in agreement. “You know, Levi seems to like your tea every time, no matter what you do to it.” He said, already walking out the shop’s front door, leaving you beaming with a slight blush on your face. 

“Levi…” you breath dreamily, imagining his stoic face sipping tea while other soldiers talk about meeting details. Dillon followed suit, giving you a quick hug as he shoveled bread in his mouth and went his separate way to his own career. You bit into your small red apple, enjoying the crisp sounds as you finished tidying up for the morning before opening.

___________________________________________________________________

Kory trudged home, dreading of telling you the news of what was to come. He knew you hated it when they were scheduled for a long leave, and you could tell that's exactly what was planned as soon as your youngest brother walked through the door. 

“How long?” You sighed, officially closing the shop as the sun peeked behind Wall Rose. Kory rubbed his neck, knowing it was gonna be a difficult night. “We leave tomorrow evening. The trip is expected to last about a week. We need to head outside of Wall Maria, to locate a forest where we’ve had some unfortunate circumstances. Last time we were out, we dropped some equipment to give us an easier chance to get back, and we need to go back for it, relying on it for future missions.” He said, helping you shut the curtains for the front windows. You said nothing, just nodded as you grabbed the lamp to head back upstairs. He followed you, feeling uneasy. Usually when long missions were scheduled, you filled with so much worry you stayed quiet as you made dinner up until bed. 

“What’s for dinner tonight, sis?” he asked, trying to get you to talk. You sighed, and started the fire for the stove. “Potatoes with a few bites of eggs. And I went out to get some milk too. I knew you would be out for a few days at least, so I wanted to send you off with a good meal.” you said, smiling at him. You had to stay strong. You worried about him so often and he knew it. “Sounds amazing. I’ll go change.” he said, smiling in return. “Wait!” you called, before he went further to wash up. “Anything?” you asked, hopeful as you remembered. Kory turned around and gave you a knowing look. “He said it was the best you’ve made yet. And he honestly wants a whole box for himself.” He said, smiling before turning back to his room. 

Your heart leapt with joy and pride at the comment, hoping it was all true. “I can do that.” You said to yourself quietly, turning to begin dinner. Most of your worry subsided and was replaced with internal screaming, hoping one day Levi would show up for the tea himself.


	2. The Cart

You slowly wake to the sound of birds once again, groaning as you rolled on the living room floor. You slept there again, too busy working on your filing system to go to your actual bed. Rubbing your eyes, you realize you didn’t get much sleep to begin with, and it’s not going to get better until after Kory’s expedition. 

Standing up, you dust yourself off and head towards the bathroom, needing to freshen up. It’s been four days since your brother left for his trip. To your understanding, there was extra fuel, blades, and provisions left behind, not to mention any other camping gear and what not that the soldiers use. You knew it was also asinine for them to make this trip to bring everything back for their next mission, but at the same time it’s also known that supplies don’t materialize out of thin air, so if you can save the resources, it’s better to do so. 

On the better side of things, your sorting process was almost done. Your father had years of paperwork scattered throughout the entire shop and house, and you were sick of trying to make headway into understanding where your finances lay this year without having an organized system. 

Looking down to the small papers, you leave them there and carry your exhausted self down to the shop, ready to keep business rolling. 

Dillon walked into the shop as you arrived downstairs. Unimpressed with his absence at dinner last night which was planned, you turn a blind eye as he came in, rubbing his temples. “Still not back?” he muttered, and you shook your head no. “Hopefully soon. He said maybe a week. But it’s just to go out and fetch dropped supplies. It should be easier than a normal routine.” Dillon grunted and headed upstairs, unbuttoning his shirt. 

You didn’t miss the bags under his eyes and the smell of whiskey as he passed you.

________________________________________________________________________

Kory sighed, having to finally have the group recover their lost wagon. The trip here was easy enough but because the last expedition took a turn for the worse, they were scattered and therefore no one really remembered the exact location of their supplies. Levi stepped in and gave out orders, slipping his hood down. “Alright. This shouldn’t have taken this long, but now we have what we came for. I’m sure we’re going to run into trouble on the way back, seeing as how we only saw a few titans on the way here. Ira, Rourke, Lee, Jean and Sasha, guard right around the cart. Connie is going to pull the cart itself. Armin, Mikasa, Eren, Kory and I will spread out 20 meters to the side of the main group and keep watch. Eren, the usual. Do not shift without my say so. Kory, you and I to the left, the others know what to do.”

Kory nodded curtly, he was the youngest and newest member so he still stuck near Levi just in case, until he understood the unspoken trust between the other squad members. The Captain kept 10 members in his squad at all times, aside from himself. For whatever reason, it just felt correct to have that number of people. Sometimes he would have to keep the squad short for certain missions or he just didn’t need all of them at once, but it capped at 10 until someone inevitably dies. 

Kory stepped up with his horse next to Levi, trying not to stand too close. He always felt self aware of the height difference between him and his captain. “Captain, if I may ask a personal favor?” he started, already nervous for even provoking this. The shorter man looked up briefly from checking his reins and replied, “Now is as good a time as any.” 

The dark brown haired boy gulped and rubbed his neck, then returned his hands to making sure his personal gear was strapped in correctly before the trip back home. “My sister, the one who sends the tea…” He missed the way Levi perked up at the mention of your name. “She puts so much care and effort into it, for you, you know.” He said, trying to play matchmaker but not wanting to push it in case Levi was just not into the prospect of a relationship. The raven haired man turned to Kory after mounting his horse, which signified the rest of the squad to follow suit and get ready. “Is that so? Maybe I’ll go get a box all to myself after all then.” He said, before calling for the team to head out.

____________________________________________________________________________

The sound of hooves beat against the ground for what seemed like hours. Levi was getting concerned at the lack of titan exposure. Once in a while they would have to split off and take care of some random walkers of variable sizes but that’s been it. He looked back and made eye contact with Kory who was thinking the same thing. Kory’s sister, huh? Making tea specifically for me it seems. She doesn’t even know me yet she goes to this length. Why? He was trying to keep his mind clear but that fact was nothing short of baffling to him, perhaps even flattering.

Just as soon as he was distracted, to the far right a red smoke signal went off. An abnormal finally decides to show up, eh? He says before signaling behind him to move in towards the cart, so they can see what’s going on.

When the two dark haired men move in closer, about 10 meters off of the others, they can see the abnormal trying their damnedest to smash their feet into the cart. Levi’s eyes find Connie’s looking straight ahead, golden orbs shrunken with absolute fear. “I don’t know how many times Connie can dodge that thing! They need to close in, NOW!” Levi shouted towards Kory, who moved in at that command to get closer to signal for someone to bring it down from the right side. 

Lee is the one who happened to catch Captain Levi and Kory’s signal, and whispered into her horse’s ear. “Jiran, keep riding, and I’ll catch up to you soon boy!” With that she stood up from her ride’s back, one leg off of it’s stirrups, and sent her ODM gear into action, immediately pinning into a good spot. Her slender body flung forward, and she pulled out her blades, only to fly behind and miss the good spot of the nape. “Oh come on!” she yelled, angry she messed up on the first try. She had a bet going with Ira that she could nab more kills than her on this expedition, and currently, she was losing that bet. Ira noticed the slip up and patted his horse to signal her that he was leaving her side.

He quickly flew up and had to narrowly avoid a tree patch before he got stuck. “I’ll show you how it’s done, girl!” he shouted, earning a hard glare from Lee. He had blonde hair and a red beard, and it infuriated Lee how he was so mismatched, bothering her perfectionist habits. Yet besides that, they were good friends, always willing to enter a competition with each other.

And once again, Ira landed the kill shot, placing him with 4 titans against Lee’s 2. Her green eyes flashed dark with annoyance, and flew back to the ground. Jiran rode right to her, with Ira’s horse following suit. 

“That abnormal wanted to squish the cart so bad, it really didn’t care how many trees it stepped on to get the deed done.” Ira said, looking back at the massive trees sticking out of the steaming feet of the slain beast. 

“Yeah, and you took it down with no problem. Let’s focus in front and hope we don’t run into any-” and as soon as Lee stated it, the worst happened. It didn’t register that they were riding past another patch of trees, and out from behind it came three titans all aiming for the group who hadn’t had time to disperse once again. 

All three were about 4 meters high, and Mikasa didn’t waste time before flying off to disable the closest one. Knocked down in record time, she flew around to grab another one, black hair whipping around her face in the wind. Titan number two ended up tripping over the first slain one, and to the squad’s horror, succeeded in what the abnormal could not. 

Kory immediately went to snatch Connie up after his body flew a few meters behind the cart being splintered. Connie grimaced as he was pulled up onto Kory’s mare, his left arm hanging limp. “Damn ground, why can’t it be softer!” he yelled, eyes squeezed shut. Levi was furious, seeing more than half of the equipment go flying and, no doubt about it, being rendered useless. He was sick of this, and wanted it to end already. It was the fourth night of them being outside of the walls and he just wanted to go home and have his tea and relax in an actual bed. 

Rourke came through and finished off the titan who tripped, trying to swing and grab one of the many riders around it. Smiling triumphantly after shaking his blades clean of blood, Ira rode up next to him and regretted doing so immediately. The third titan was left standing, and was in the perfect position to grab Rourke, who hadn’t even seen it coming. Ira’s bright blue eyes widened as he shouted for his best friend to move out of the way, to no avail. The giant’s teeth mashed down right around Rourke’s neck, and took bites one by one like he was a carrot. Tears flying out of his eyes, Ira swung right around to double slice it’s nape, ending it’s life.

“Rourke..” he croaked out, as his squad looped back to take in the damage, seeing the blood on the ground and the despair in Ira’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too graphic of a death? Not enough? Any suggestions? RIP Rourke, you didn't really have development anyway.
> 
> The names in Levi's squad that you don't recognize is so I could take some liberties, hopefully screwing up less of what is actually canon information.


	3. The Aftermath

Evening was coming as the sky slowly lost its blue tone and turned slightly yellow. You sighed, looking around your shop, wondering if your brother would return tonight. Dillon has hardly been around since he’s been gone on this mission, and you’ve been somewhat lonely without your family around. The front door opened and an older gentleman came in, looking somewhat in a hurry. 

“How can I help you today sir?” you asked, an excited smile on your face. Even after all these years with straggling shoppers here and there, you found yourself animated every time someone stopped by. The flowers became your passion, caring and tending each clay pot like it was your own child.

“Clover dear, they’re coming back!” Your eyes and ears perked up, heart starting to beat faster. “Now?” You asked, already rushing out from behind the service counter. “Yes! Very quick dear, let me buy a few lilys for my sweet Lee, she’s gotta be coming back with them.” You nodded, gathering three lilys from their named station. “All white today Eric?” you ask, tying them with a piece of string into a small bouquet. You already knew his answer, as he started to repeat what he says every time. “The simpler the better!” he says, smiling, and placing a few coins on the desk as you both rush out of the shop towards the main street.

Dread filled your stomach and slowly replaced excitement as you gathered with the crowd. Murmuring started to fill your ears and became louder as the parade drew nearer. You finally pushed your way through to get to the edge of the line of spectators, needing to see your brother. Your eyes scanned, seeing Levi first made your stomach flip with butterflies. You waved even though he didn’t know who you were, and weren’t surprised as he didn’t wave back. 

Behind him by a few people were Kory and Lee walking side by side. No one was smiling. No one looked up to wave. What happened? And then you saw it. An empty horse, tied to Ira’s horse, walking in the very back. Your stomach churned as you realized who was missing. Tears filled your eyes as you whispered “No…”

Suddenly a woman’s voice called out and there was a commotion, and you knew exactly what was happening. Heartbreak, anger, devastation. Rourke’s mother pushed into the street right behind Ira, calling to the scouts. “What happened to my son!? You cannot ignore me!” Sobs fell into her throat. “Please Ira...tell me!”

You watched them march back to their soldier’s quarters, their green cloaked backs getting smaller as the distance passed. The street was dispersing with people but you found it hard to move as Rourke’s mother was in the street on her knees crying her eyes out. Kory was close friends with Ira and Rourke. Years of memories of the boys coming to your house to hang out and mess around after school, after meals, after training. Thoughts plagued you of how Rourke tried to pull pranks on you all the time, just because you were the endearing older sister taking care of everyone, and someone needed to mess with you. If no one did, who would? It was Rourke.  
Warm salty tears continued to fall down your face as you crossed the street and made your way back to the shop. Tonight was going to be hard, if Kory even came back at all.

______________________________________________________________

You had just finished eating your own small dinner of watery soup and bread when Dillon came through the door of the house. “Kory came back today…” you immediatley started, not even waiting to see what state Dillon was in. He had been avoiding you because he knew what you would say if you smelled him. Your father died from alcoholism and now that’s what he decided to do in his spare time of all day and night. 

You stood up, dressed in shorts that hugged around your thighs, and had a loose larger shirt on, flowing so the heat of August wouldn’t make you sweat as much. Dillon was dressed in his MP uniform still, so at least you knew he was coming back from work.

The blonde looked at you with no smile. “Good. I’d kill him if he died.” he said and turned back around to go straight to the bathroom to wash up. You stared after him, wondering and worrying about his health. You knew he didn’t cope well with Kory being gone but you wished he’d find a better way to handle himself. You don’t want him ending up like your father. 

You were just about to clean your dishes up when you dropped them back on the table, running up to the person who walked through the door. “Kory!” you yelled, wrapping your arms around his waist in a tight hug. He smiled softly and barely hugged you back, the embarrassment settling in. “Miss me?” he asked, not forcing you off. He knew how overprotective you were.

As happy you were to finally have him back home, your sad eyes looked up at his ice blue ones. “I’m sorry…” you said, gut wrenching with guilt that shouldn’t belong to you. Kory immediatley shifted his gaze from you to the uninteresting wall next to you. You could tell he wasn’t ready to talk about it yet, about losing one of his best friends after years of being together. “There’s fruit and bread on the table still if you’re hungry.” You said, trying to distract him with home comfort. “Thanks sis but-” he was cut half through his sentence when there was a knock at the door. 

Your house had two entrances that you called front doors. One was downstairs to the flower shop, and the other was one that led from your personal home, to a stairway on the side of the building downstairs that led into the intersection outside. “Who is..?” Just as you were questioning who it was, Ira let himself through the door. Any confusion disappeared. No one really stopped by except for Kory’s group themselves. Kory looked at his friend and tears welled. The two hugged and kept it tight, no words needed at the extreme guilt and loss they both felt. 

“Clover.” Ira said eventually and walked up to you to give you a hug. You returned it, trying to pour all of your sympathy into him, his body trying not to shudder with his sadness. “You’re our big sister Clover.” he said, knowing full well not to look at you as you sobbed into his arms, acknowledging the fact that you lost a piece of your family.  
Kory was the first to break the silence of the living room once your tears subsided. “Sis thank you for the thought of the food, but most of us are gonna meet outside of Rourke’s house. To talk to his family and be together in memory of him.” You nodded and let go of Ira, satisfied with the physical comfort he gave you. Kory looked towards his room, clearly with something on his mind that made his eyebrows slightly knit together. “He...probably is out for the night.” you said, following his gaze. You wanted to keep it vague, as to not insult your brother with the idiocy of the other one.

“Fine. If he wants to make himself scarce, let him do it. See if I care. C’mon Ira, they’re expecting us.” Kory said, before waving goodbye to you and heading back out the door. Your hair was a little disheveled from crying and the tight hugs going around, but you couldn’t bring yourself to go to bed right now. It was hard to believe little round Rourke was gone.

Once more, there was a knock at the door. You couldn’t believe the amount of company stopping over tonight, even if it’s only the second person. Figuring it could be Lee or someone else of the squad looking for your brother, you opened it. “He just left, should be-” you stopped in your tracks, looking up at steel grey eyes. 

“L-Levi Ackerman?” you squeaked, heart pounding. The man you admired from afar and made special batches of tea for was standing at your doorway, in a loose white button up shirt and black pants with black boots. He looked at the state you were in and noted that this was Clover, the woman who made him tea without ever meeting him. He noticed your ruffled hair and pink tired eyes, and felt bad for suddenly coming over.

“Clover...right? I uh. Sorry for coming over to your private house suddenly.” “That's no problem!” You said, maybe a little too quickly. His voice was very nice. “Well. I’m here for a personal favor. I don’t sleep well on nights after an expedition like today’s, and I’m sure you’re aware of what happened.”

Tears threatened to pour out again. “He was like a brother to me.” you said, opening the door more so he could step in. “Please, come in and have a seat. We have a small table right in here.” The small man stepped in, quickly taking in his surroundings. Something he was accustomed to doing in case something ever went awry. “I’m sorry for your loss.” He said, accepting the invitation and sat down in one of the old wooden chairs at the table. You shook your head and offered a polite smile. “The loss is greater for Kory. Thank you for taking care of him.” you said, waiting for the day you could officially say that, and bowed towards him.

Levi’s eyebrows raised and then he waved his hand. “I assure you, the kid takes care of himself plenty as well as others.” He said, trying to make you feel better. “The tea last week was delicious by the way.” Your smile grew wider at that. “It always is good but something about that cinnamon added to it made me feel...warm and at ease.” He admitted. “So I came to see if I could personally order a box of my own.” He said, crossing one leg on top of the other. You stared at him in disbelief. “A hard return...and you just...come to my house to order tea?” You said, realizing that the situation is slightly amusing if not confusing as well. 

The captain didn’t find a problem with this notion. “Tea helps me cope.” He said simply, like it’s a fact he shouldn’t have had to clarify. At that, you felt a sense of responsibility. You always wanted to help people, no matter the reason. And this handsome man who you admired and had a crush on from the sidelines, wants something from you.

“Would you like the same blend, or something different?” You offered with a shy smile. Maybe you would incorporate tea and other things during the winter for business if it was this good. Levi looked at you, and really took in what he saw. Your shorts hugging your leg’s curves, your shirt exposing some collarbone and hanging off of your hips, your hair tousled. _She’s rather...pretty. _“Well, I would love the same blend. Your name is, Clover, right?” He asked, standing back up and walking over to you. He outstretched his hand and you shook it, making eye contact and feeling like your heart would leap out of your mouth. “It is. Mr Ackerman thank you for stopping by. If you’d like, you could wait for it now or come back in the morning?”__

__It _was _rather sudden of Levi to just drop by like this, but he didn’t want to exactly leave either. He felt bad that you were a young woman alone in her house and clearly had been crying. Even though it was none of his business as a customer and acquaintance. “I can wait. Don’t exactly plan on having sweet dreams tonight.” He said to you, watching you turn and grab boxes from your cupboards. _Nice ass and she’s pretty. _______

______You sifted through boxes looking for the perfect ingredients. You made a mental note that you should really start writing your blend measurements down, so if a batch comes out as perfect as Levi says, you can recreate it. Right now you were going off of estimates. “Would you like extra cinnamon in your personal batch, sir?” You asked, looking over your shoulder. Levi’s senses pricked at the last word, quickly regaining his composure. “Yes, that would be excellent.” He said, eyes starting to wander the room instead of your form. It’s not very polite to ogle someone you just met._ _ _ _ _ _

______Dillon came out of his room, having heard a voice he hasn’t heard before. He was surprised to come into the living area to see a man at the table, and then his eyes turned on you, grabbing your tea leaves. “Really, Clover? After a close death in the family, and you have a guy over? Classy.” He muttered, and glared at Levi before stomping back to his room. In turn, the stoic man looked at you with an eyebrow raised._ _ _ _ _ _

______You gave him a pained apologetic look, face heated from the embarrassment that was just caused. “That’s our other brother. I apologize for that behavior. He uh...has been coping in a rather unhealthy way.” You said, trying to keep Dillon’s issues private but you felt the need to explain to this poor guy who was put in the middle of an awkward situation. You finished packing the tea into a small handmade wooden box, and walked over to Levi to hand it to him._ _ _ _ _ _

______The raven haired man stood up and accepted the box with a small smile on his face. “Thank you Clover, maybe I’ll be back again soon for more. Your tea soothes us all.” He said, trying to add avoid the fact that he only cared about himself drinking this tea. Your face kept a slight blush on it as you led him to your door. “Please stop by any time, Mr Ackerman. I’ll be glad to fill tea orders for you.” You said with sincerity. Closing the door behind him as he nodded his head farewell, you brought your hands up to your face and squealed quietly. “He came to my house and I gave him tea!” And then you realized and sighed. “For free too. Worth it!” You decided, and skipped off to bed, in a much better mood._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOAH long chapter. Hope the first interaction between the two felt normal! Tell me what you think! ALSO. For me it's personally tedious to constantly write Y/N and such for reader perspectives, so I came up with a name to just try to make the flow more natural of reading. Your POV name is Clover!


	4. The Tea

You were caught off guard as a customer repeated their order to you, snapping you out of a day dream. “Clover, did you hear me?” she said, jingling her coin purse for emphasis. “Oh! I’m sorry ma’am, I must’ve spaced out. Been pretty giddy lately I guess.” You replied, bowing and coming around the service counter. It’s been a few days since Levi made his surprise visit and you were still thinking of it. You also couldn’t believe you let yourself meet him in your summer pajamas of all things. 

The woman looked at you with a knowing smile. “You have found someone you pine for, right?” She asked, cupping her face in one hand. “Ah youth, to be so romantically in love again.” You turned to her, with a surprised look. “Is it that obvious? Yes I like him but we literally just met for the first time the other day. And he doesn’t have time for me! I just make him tea orders!” You said, maybe talking a little too much to be truly believed by the older woman. She accepted her bouquet of buttercups and tulips, handing you her payment. “Thank you for these dear, they’ll make for a good sight of liveliness for my anniversary dinner tonight.”

You smiled and wished her the best, looking around the shop. September starts in three days, and the early mornings were already getting chilly. Maybe you should stop planting new flowers and start your winter plans. There were two sections to the store. One side was where you had your flowers on display for sale, the other was where you grew a majority of the plants. You were very happy that you had three plants filled with tea leaves still and you hoped half of it could be a special reserve for Levi. With the lull in business, you got to work inspecting each leaf, determining which were fully grown and at their peak to pick. 

Upstairs you had your spices and wood and other tools, to finish making your homemade boxes. You tried to put in effort in every little aspect to your batches, from the most mature tea leaves, to pulling out some money from your savings to buy pigment mixtures to paint the boxes. Unfortunately, the tea side to your endeavors cost more time and effort and materials, so you have to charge more for the boxes, even though you understand money is tight for anyone. You laughed at the small thought that maybe the people in the inner wall would come down and spare you some of their currency.

After gathering a good two handfuls of leaves you brought them to a tray that you had sitting on the windowsill and laid them evenly, to catch the sun and to wither naturally. Upstairs you had cut an apple into small cubes, and when they started to dry out, you were going to add them to a batch of tea as well. You were the most hopeful for that one, experimenting with different fruits to come out with a good result. _Maybe Levi would like that one too… _You’ve always been like this, filling your head with quick quips of the captain.__

__Kory walked through the front door, looking tired as all hell but no slump in his walk. “Hey Sis. Getting more tea ready?” He asked, seeing you by the window sill that you deemed ‘The Drying Sill’. “Yeah! And you’ll never guess who stopped by after you left last night!” You said, getting excited all over again. He looked at you expectantly, waiting for you to gush your answer. “Levi! Levi came by a couple of minutes right after you left! And he asked for a whole box of tea! I gave him extra cinnamon and he looked all happy and, what?” You paused, looking at your brother’s face._ _

__“The Captain was at our house last night? And not at our gathering celebrating Rourke’s life?” At that your gut dropped. You hadn’t considered how that information might upset the rest of the squad. “W-well, he said drinking tea makes him cope, and, I wanted to help him with anything I could, so..” you trailed off, feeling awkward and guilty. Kory shook his head, clearly a little agitated. “Whatever. None of my business. So? Did you make out with him?” He asked, changing the subject to teasing you._ _

__You sputtered, almost tripping as you walked back to the growing section. “No! We just met! What?” You asked, although the thought of kissing him was nice. You grabbed a few plucks of Honeysuckle so that you could add it to your apple tea mix. Some nice flowery taste would be good. Kory laughed at your innocence and looked around the shop, getting some thoughts. “You know, I’m off for a few days. I could help you get started on your sprucing up plans.” At that you came over to hug him much to his dismay. “I’d be happy with that. We can start today after we close the store! Keep busy as much as possible.” You said, knowing he would welcome the distraction from his grieving thoughts._ _

_________________________________________________________________________ _

__Levi and Erwin were in the latter’s office, discussing details for the upcoming mission. “I gave my squad members a few days off. After that, we’ll rally everyone back together and go over the new plans. Is Eren really gonna be comfortable doing this?” Levi asked his friend, sitting on the opposite side of his desk, watching him closely._ _

__Erwin eyed Levi, knowing he had a bigger heart than he let on for his friends and comrades. “Eren is essential for this plan, therefore he will gladly play a part in plugging the hole in the wall.” Is all the commander said, sounding absolute and that Eren’s question of loyalty should be dropped. Everyone knew Levi was in charge of Eren and if he slipped up, there would be hell to pay._ _

__“Enough about work talk. How is everyone feeling after you all returned?” Erwin asked, earnestly concerned about everyone’s mental well being. The death certificate was already issued but that did not mean all was well. Levi looked at the floorboards at that, not even sure. “Rourke was like family to half of my squad Erwin. It’s going to take some time. And it stretches to past his immediate family too. He was like a brother to Kory and Ira. And Kory’s sister herself looked distraught.”_ _

__Erwin contemplated Levi’s words. “You should check up on everyone. May help their mental morale.” He said, implying that he should plan on doing that as soon as possible. The smaller man nodded quietly, and got up to walk back to his own office. First he would finish some major paperwork he’s been neglecting since he returned inside the walls._ _

__Of course, just as he had thought about paperwork, he suddenly felt exhaustion hit him. Staying upright at his desk for hours at a time took a toll on him and he wasn’t sure how long he wanted to do it today. Opening his door he eyed his ‘To Do’ pile, noticing it got a little taller. Sighing, he turned to his small stove area and flicked a match onto a small pile of wood, so he could start water for tea. Pulling out his favorite white teacup with gold embellishments, he grabbed the small box he obtained from Kory’s house. “Shit.” he said, noticing there was barely enough in there for one more good brew. _Guess I’m going back there today after all. _____

___________________________________________________________________________ _ _ _

____It was late now, the sun set a couple of hours ago. You and Kory were working hard downstairs in the shop, the lanterns still burning, lighting your work space. Dillon was nowhere to be found, much to your frustration. The past month or so Dillon has been out more often than at home. You know his short life has been hard on him, but there are better ways to cope than drinking your day away and sleeping with any woman who is willing. And to do so after your father passed away from too much indulgence? The thought scared you to watch your brother follow in that path._ _ _ _

____Kory got down from a step stool and pointed out some of the woodwork. “We may have to replace this one beam. If we want to keep this building in our family for as long as humanity survives, then we need to start figuring out when and where to begin putting in work to redo the structures.” You smiled at Kory in full agreement, thankful you had someone helping you with all of this. The door opened to the shop, which was left open to easily go in and out while working through the night. You were excited once you started, you didn’t want to stop._ _ _ _

____Your eyes widened at the man that came in, trying not to cause a scene. “Captain Levi!” Kory said stiffly, and saluted with his heels snapping together and his fist on his heart. You looked at him with a smirk on your face. When you were all younger, Kory was the one with an authority problem, and now here he was, part of the scouts, checking his privilege before his captain. Levi waved his hand once he knew Kory wasn’t wavering. “As you were Kory. I came to see how you were holding up. You too, Miss.” he added, earning a surprised blush from you._ _ _ _

____Kory was the first to reply, since clearly you were too busy eyeing Levi from across the room. “We’re alright Captain. Working hard to redecorate and restabilize the shop. We...we missed you the other night at Rourke’s house, sir.” He finished, not wanting to be punished for it, but he wanted to point out the fact that Levi should have been there as their captain._ _ _ _

____The man looked down as he walked across the room to you both on the other side. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I could have been, but. You have to understand. I’ve seen it too many times and sometimes, it’s just too hard.” Your bottom lip quivered. It was still hard to believe your number one pain in the ass was gone. “He was here getting tea that night. Don’t be rude.” You said, smacking Kory in the chest and offering a kind smile to Levi instead. “How was it, Mr. Ackerman?” you asked, taking a step forward. The smaller man smiled. “First of all, miss, call me Levi. You earned it. Because that was such a great batch, it's already gone. As I’m sure you know, supplies run scarce so I need to make one small brew of tea last all day, stretching the leaves to steep several times. And even at the end of the night, I still get a pleasant aroma and taste.”_ _ _ _

____All of the praise had you beaming wide, excited to have someone approve of your hard work, other than family. Kory himself stared at Levi for a moment, bewildered that the captain was _smiling _. Even if it was at his sister. He never sees emotion come from the captain except for anger.___ _ _ _

______Levi looked up around the ceiling, with his limited lighting source. Just then, an idea came to mind. “Miss, I realized after I left the other night that I never paid for my special order of tea. If you continue to give me personalized tea orders, I could help you with your shop. In my spare time from the scout duties of course.” You gawked at him. Levi Ackerman, helping you fix up your house and shop? Just for some tea? “Why in the world would you go out of your way to do that?”_ _ _ _ _ _

______“Tch.” He said, obviously discomforted that his good intentions are being questioned. “I don’t have to do anything. It’s just bartering at this point.” His grey eyes fell on Kory. “If you’re alright and not in need of company, you should get rest. We have a big mission after your time off is up. Take the rest while you can.” If you didn’t know any better, it seemed like he was trying to get rid of Kory so it was just you two. However there was no way that would be a goal of his, you decided._ _ _ _ _ _

______Kory looked confused then shrugged. One more salute, and he was off to bed. “Captain! Good night Sis.” You were suddenly very anxious, trying to avoid eye contact. “S-so, um, were you looking for more tea tonight, Cap, uh, Levi?” you asked, irritated that your nerves were showing._ _ _ _ _ _

______Levi finished walking fully over to your side of the room, still taking in what needs to be done just by first glance. His cool low voice answered yours, “I’ll take the tea tonight if that’s alright with you, miss. I have paperwork to attend to before I retire for the night. Tomorrow however, can be another story.” he finished, turning his attention back to you. You smiled eagerly. “Sounds like a plan then, Levi.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______You sent him on his way with a box of normal peppermint tea, telling him it would relax him for the night so he wouldn’t be tense the whole time doing paperwork. You couldn’t wait for tomorrow._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to avoid using 'Clover' as much as possible. Again, it's for the flow of things for my own sake and others'. I know its not the usual kind of reader insert. I hope you guys liked this chapter!


	5. The Argument

You couldn’t believe how energetic you were first thing in the morning. Before the sun even fully made it over the wall, you were washed and dressed, shoveling pieces of an orange down your mouth while gathering supplies and blueprint plans. Dillon came out and joined you in the kitchen, half dressed for work. There was a quiet tension in the common room while you both got ready and you couldn’t take it anymore. 

“You sure have been working a lot lately, huh?” You wanted to start off with small talk, just to gauge his mood. “Yeah.” Was all he said, and that instantly made you irritated. “Kory has to go back out in two days. Are you going to join us for dinner tonight?” You pressed. Usually you had a routine of family dinners before Kory went out, and you’d be damned if you couldn’t uphold it for your youngest brother’s sake. Luckily, Dillon didn’t seem to be in a terrible mood. He looked at you and sighed, starting to button his work shirt. “Sis I’m sorry but I can’t make any promises. I know I haven’t been around and I apologize but I have a life and responsibilities too. I even started seeing this girl.” You raised your eyebrows, not sure how to react. “I’m happy you’ve found someone but Kory needs us to support him. If the family dynamic we have falls apart, it might be bad for his mentality out on the field.”

Kory wasn’t home at the moment either, which made airing out your frustration easier. You didn’t want him to see his siblings falter. Dillon looked at you with a warning look. “I don’t tell you how to run your life or your business. I don’t tell you what is more important when it comes to other people’s lives.” He said, grabbing a bottle out of his cupboard. As siblings, you three had a natural rivalry with trivial things, like touching each other’s things or moving them. So early on, it was decided that each child would get their own cupboard to keep their belongings separate and intact.

Your eyes narrowed at the bottle, gazing at the dark amber liquid inside. “Dillon, how much have you been drinking lately?” You asked, guarded at what would come after. His bright blue eyes snapped to yours, showing the annoyance. “None of your fucking business. Drop it.” He warned. You weren’t having any of that. “You must know I worry about you. After Dad died like that-“ 

Dillon stepped towards you and the action only registered a few seconds after you felt the sting in your cheek. His hand was still raised, and he looked anything but calm. His breathing was coming in heavy heaves and you could tell he wasn’t sure about the deed he executed. “Don’t you dare compare me to that failure of a father. Ever again. He chose to throw himself away after mother died. He didn’t care about us.” His voice grew strained towards the end of the sentence and you felt tears come through your eyes. _He hit me. He has never raised his hand. _Anger flared in you as more tears fell. “So what, now you’re going to go to work, and drink your day away with whatever other lowlifes are in your group and pretend you don’t have a little brother who needs you?” You yelled at him, rubbing the reddened skin on your face. It hurt, but you knew it could’ve been worse. Dillon held back.__

__“At least I have people surrounding me that don’t belittle every choice I make in life.” Was what he ended with, walking past you and out the door. You just watched him leave, not understanding where you went wrong. You cared about your brothers so much. Were you being too overbearing?_ _

__——————————————————————-_ _

__About a half an hour passed before you found yourself downstairs, once more getting ready for the day’s plans. Your tears stopped a few minutes ago and you tried to make sure that the altercation would be unnoticed. You were wearing black pants that clung to your legs, your black slip on shoes, and a yellow dress shirt that showed off your collar bone and just the top of your cleavage. You wanted to be comfortable, yet pleasing to the eye as you had to run your shop and also work on the renovations. The thought about wanting to appeal to Levi also crossed your mind._ _

__The door to the shop opened and your heart stammered, watching the man himself walk in. He had black pants, a navy blue long sleeve shirt, black boots, and an orange bandana pushing his hair out of his eyes. Definitely casual enough to help out for the day. You walked up to him with a wide smile on your face. “Morning Levi! Hope you slept well last night?” You asked, genuinely concerned. He looked tired as hell last night._ _

__“Mm. The usual. The tea definitely helped.” He said, voice low. He woke up himself only about an hour ago, but knew he had promised to help so he had gotten ready as quickly as possible. “So. What am I helping with?” He asked, eyeing the store. Everything in him tried to not instantly take over direction and clean and plan everything himself. This was Clover’s plan for her home, not him reprimanding his cadets for their lack of commitment to cleanliness._ _

__You were happy to hear the compliment, and looked around with a sigh. “I have a problem with starting a project and finishing it. So I think I’ll task you with the things I’d probably get distracted from the most, if that’s okay.” Turning back to him with an apologetic look. He shrugged and rolled up his sleeves. “Tell me where to start.”_ _

__First things first, he decided to clean, which embarrassed you. “I get it’s a flower shop but it still doesn’t excuse the lack of clean walls. We’ll start there.” You idly watched him as a couple of people came into the shop to chat, and not buy anything. You didn’t mind, the company was nice and they at least got to eye your flowers on display, and the more charismatic you were with everyone the better, you decided. It was half way through the work day when you started helping Levi again, his standard cleaning apparently finished._ _

__You pointed around at the ceiling, showing him what beams you needed to replace first. “I have a hammer and nails here, and the new wooden I beams are laying on the service counter. I can help pass them to you when we start.” You had a very clear goal in mind to at least get the beams done before sundown._ _

__Levi got to work fast, pulling nails out of the old splintered wood and eventually, all 3 old beams were out. “It would be smart to use these for fire wood instead of getting rid of them.” He mentioned, wiping his brow of sweat. “Already planned on it. I try to reuse things as much as possible until they just can’t serve repurposing anymore.” You smiled proudly. He just watched you as he hummed, stepping on the step stool once more. “Would you mind bringing one over and I can do the rest?” He asked. You nodded and realized that they were heavier than you thought. Kory was the one who put them on the desk, and as you tried to pick one up by yourself, you accidentally dropped it, creating a large thud. You freaked out with embarrassment and concern for the wood itself._ _

__“Guess I have to help you with this part too, huh?” He said, already off the stool and picking up one end of the beam. Your face flushed red and stayed quiet for a moment. _Great let’s just make ourselves look dumb in front of him. _____

____Once back on the stool, Levi hoisted it up above his head with a small grunt and got the new nails in within seconds. “Ma’am, can you grab me some water? It’s starting to get warm through the day.” You nodded, “Of course! Be right back!” You said, all too happy to take a breather from the shop. You concluded that opening the windows downstairs may help. You grabbed two cups from your cupboard, and a vase of water and brought it back downstairs with you. Your eyes fell on Levi’s chest, stretched up putting the last beam into place on the side of the store, bare. You just stared for a few seconds before realizing you were ogling and you crossed the store to bring him his drink. “Thanks.” he muttered, instantly downing the whole cup. It was a good thing you brought the vase down with you, you thought as you refilled his cup. Grey eyes watched you and he decided to finally speak up._ _ _ _

____“Were you okay? First thing this morning?” He asked, trying not to overstep an obvious boundary. You tilted your head to the side, a little lost on what he meant until he stepped off the stool and gently rubbed a thumb over your cheek. The notion made your face tingle at the touch, and he dropped his hand just as soon as he touched you. “Oh, that.” You said, avoiding eye contact and walking back to the window sill, checking your drying process on the leaves._ _ _ _

____His eyes narrowed at your discomfort. He was not one to tolerate people hitting women for no reason, especially one as caring as you seemed to be. “It’s alright, really. Just family stuff.” You said, trying to get him to drop it and believe that you were okay. _If Kory did something like that, he’s on stable duty til he dies. _Levi thought to himself.___ _ _ _

______“Tch.” he clicked his tongue. If you didn’t want to share, then it was your problem to figure out on your own. You felt guilty not telling him. So you tried giving him something to go on. “Truthfully, I’m scared and very upset about what happened this morning. But I don’t want to seem weak.” You said, bashfully. “It’s not something I want you to worry over, and I was very excited about having you here to help on your days off. So, I want to focus on the repairs, while I have your attention.” You turned back to him with a determined smile._ _ _ _ _ _

______He raised his eyebrows at you, impressed by your ability to stand strong. The man turned to the blueprints, eyes fixated on plan number two. He was trying to not get involved but part of him wanted you to open up to him, to rely on him in case something worse happened.  
____________________________________________________________________ _ _ _ _ _

______That night, you sat at your small dining table with Kory, Dillon still out on duty. Kory’s eyes kept landing on your cheek and you decided that clearly there must have been a mark left behind. Otherwise how would two people know what happened who weren’t there to witness it. Dillon did hit you kind of hard._ _ _ _ _ _

______Eventually he got pissed off enough to ask. “Who did it?” was all he said, standing to clear your plates. You sighed and ran a hand through your hair, exhausted enough from the busy day. “You need to keep a cool head if I tell you, understand?” You said, looking up at him with tired eyes. He patiently waited as he nodded his head, not vocally promising anything. When you simply said “Dillon” he dropped a plate, chipping the side of it. “What?” he snapped, turning to face you from the sink. “Cool head.” You reminded him. “We got into a bad argument this morning. I brought up his drinking problem and dad, and he had enough of it.”_ _ _ _ _ _

______Kory was pissed and raised his voice, something he didn’t do very often. “I don’t care what self esteem problems he has, you don’t deserve to be fucking hit!” he yelled. “If I ever catch him with his hand raised to you, he’s getting his ass kicked. You tried not to smile because it was a serious conversation, but as the youngest child, you couldn’t see Kory overtaking Dillon. At your stifled smile, he became more upset. “Why are you fuckin laughing!?” he yelled, and you burst out in a fit of giggles. “I’m sorry! It’s just funny hearing you threaten him like that! He’s bigger than you!” you said, wiping a tear from your eye. He grumpily stomped to you and ruffled your hair._ _ _ _ _ _

______“I’m serious. Sis, tell me next time. Or someone. Don’t let anyone hurt you.” he kissed the top of your head and walked to the washroom. “Scrub good! I’m inviting company tomorrow for dinner!” You called, smiling at your brother’s protectiveness. You felt foolish though. You were the oldest, you shouldn’t have to need protection, especially from your family._ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone had a great weekend! This took me a bit of time to do because I needed rest and I was trying to make the first big conflict span out well enough. Not to mention, I realized I needed to reel Levi back in a little bit to his usual more stoic like nature. Let me know how you liked it!


	6. The Paint

Today’s outfit was supposed to show off a little more. You had dressed in brown capri pants that clung to your skin and accentuated your ass nicely, with black flats and a white blouse that was tied at the bottom hem, showing off your waist a little. The collar dipped to a nice v-shape, showing off slightly more cleavage than yesterday’s shirt. You would be lying if you said you weren’t trying to get Levi’s eye in a different manner.

Levi showed up around the same time as the day before. Black pants, black boots, a white button up shirt but no bandana today. You waved at Levi as he walked through the shop’s entrance, nervous about your decision to show him skin, but excited hoping that it would work. “Mornin’ Levi!” you said, with an enthusiastic wave. 

Levi was starting to get used to your cheery self and his lips perked up a bit. “Morning Clover.” Him saying your name made your heart skip a beat. He seemed to refrain from saying it a lot, so any chance you got to hear it was a treat. “So today is quite easy! We just need to move things out of the store, upstairs, and get started on painting!” The walls were an old musty looking brown. Your mother loved neutral colors whereas you were the opposite, you loved to fill color in where you could. In fact, your favorite color was green, and that’s the base idea you went with for the new look for the shop. And soon, you wanted to come up with an actual name for the family business, which was essentially just yours now anyways. It was always just referred to as ‘the flower shop’. 

“Painting? Good thing I scrubbed the grime off of everything yesterday then, hm?” he asked, and you could tell he was in a good mood. His teasing tone let you know that you could probably tease right back. “Now now, just because you’re good at one thing doesn’t mean you have to rub it in.” You said with a playful smirk. He didn’t talk much but you were picking up on his sense of humor at least, now have spent time with him for a couple of days. He was watching you, thinking of how to retort, when you turned around and grabbed a large flower pot filled with pansies, to bring upstairs with you. “I’ll go put on a pot for some tea. I’ll be back!” You said, immediately dashing upstairs as to not embarrass yourself with further witty jokes.

Levi watched you, noticing the way your waist was showing with the small knot of fabric holding it up. _She looks great today. _Levi caught his thoughts where they were. _Don’t get involved. _He knew better.____

____Around five minutes later you showed back up with two thick clay mugs and a rich flowery scent following you. Levi’s nose picked up the scent and he walked over to you, leaning in to smell the brew. “Honeysuckle, green tea, and apples.” You hummed, proud of your new concoction. It seemed like your working partner agreed, as he sniffed and immediately picked up his mug to take a sip. “Hmm. Why is this the best tea I’ve ever had?” he asked, taking another small sip as the water was still quite hot. Your face reddened at the compliment. “If you mean that, you never have to pay for tea again.” You said quietly, grabbing your own mug to sip. Your eyes looked up at his. You were slightly taller than him, which felt odd seeing as how your brothers towered over you. However at the same time, you really didn’t care. You mused in your thoughts, _I wonder if he minds kissing someone taller? _____ _ _

______His movement made you jump a little since you were stuck in your head with an indecent thought. Levi looked dead serious which made you question if you said something wrong. “Clover, don’t ever give away your gifts for free. Your tea is damn good and I’m going to pay you for each batch, whether you like it or not.” Your eyes widened and you looked back down into your mug, a small smile on your face. He’s the only one who you’ve sold your tea to so far, and he has praised it more than once. Clearly you’re doing something right._ _ _ _ _ _

______You both took one more long sip before carrying everything out of the shop. Working together with good speed, you got the place cleared out in about an hour and you looked around, putting your hands on your hips. “I have two greens. One is more of an emerald green and the other is parakeet. So essentially, one vibrant green and the other a little lighter. How should we do the walls?” You turned and looked to Levi, who was staring at some excess dirt piles on the floor from the flower pots. “Clean that after if you want, first help.” You asked, nudging him. He looked at you then the walls, standing beside you to get your angle._ _ _ _ _ _

______His grey eyes looked back and forth between two walls. “How about the back and front walls emerald, and the two sides the lighter? That way the plants will stand out more with a lighter wall in the background.” You contemplated it for a moment before hugging him. “That sounds perfect!” and immediately jumped back, a horrified look on your face. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t just jump in like that and I am usually a very huggy person and I know-” you were caught off guard with a light chuckle and another hug._ _ _ _ _ _

______Past a split second of surprise, you leaned into his hug, feeling his warm body encase you back. He pulled away first, much to your dismay but you understood. “Don’t feel bad for a hug, dumbass. The world needs more compassion.” And with that, he left you standing there as he started to sweep the floor of dried petals and dirt. _He’s been saying the nicest things to me today… _____ _ _ _ _

________You both got a whole wall painted before you needed a break. “Hey Levi, are you hungry?” you asked, setting your paintbrush on your bucket, trying to ignore the fact that you got green paint on your shoes. He stood up, following suit. “A little, yes. Anything in mind?” You stood there and thought. “Well, I was uh, planning on asking you to stay for dinner, since you’ve been such a big help. And I was going to mention since tomorrow you guys have to get ready for your next mission, that you should stay and prepare. You don’t have to waste your last day off.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Steel grey blue eyes watched you as you spoke. You were scared to make eye contact sometimes, for fear of being judged by him. You felt like he was quick to pick up on things just by watching people. He shrugged and put his hands on his hips as well. “Dinner would be nice, eating with someone friendly. Instead of annoying ass people back in the mess hall. Are your brothers okay with that?” You giggled, not thinking about that. “They can deal, if Dillon is even around. Kory on the other hand may have a stroke.” Levi smirked at that. “Should be fun to torment him.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________.And that’s exactly what it felt like to your youngest brother. Kory sat at the dining table, back extremely straight and body stiff. He was suddenly hyper aware of the state of his home. _When is the last time we cleaned? Are the shelves dusty? Can he smell the dirt? _He was trying not to explode from sheer panic. Levi could tell and he was having a great time messing with him. He ran his finger along the table and picked it up, inspecting what his skin picked up. Kory turned to you shoving down his anxiety. “How’s dinner coming along, sis?”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________You could hear it in his voice, he was very uncomfortable. You loved picking on your brothers where you could, so you went along with Levi. “Not sure, I think we have some time left, why don’t you two talk details about the mission or play a game? I still need to toast the bread a little.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

___________A game? _Kory looked at you in disbelief. Turning back to the captain, he gulped, catching Levi glimpse at the flooring. The older man looked up at the ceiling, feigning disinterest in whatever was going on. Whatever his sister and Levi had going on between them, he didn’t know if he could take Levi judging him both in and outside of scout duty. “Captain, would you be interested in a game, or would you like a tour of the house?” He asked, trying to get out of anything where Levi could easily turn the tables on him in his own home.__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Levi stood up then and stuck his hands in his pockets, looking bored. “Lead the way, brat.” Kory practically jumped up in response. He led him down the hallway to start the show there. “My room, which I share with my brother Dillon. He isn’t here right now,” he started, to which Levi replied with “I see that.” Kory could have smacked his head. Of course, the captain can see something so obvious. He pointed to a door next to his own. “This is Clover’s room, but she’d kill me if I showed you without her permission. Here’s the washroom, for future reference if you need it.” Levi quirked up an eyebrow at the comment. “And why would I need to know for future reference?” he asked his soldier, looking up at him, daring him to slip up. Kory saluted, scared shitless of Levi and his authority. “Sir! Just saying if you and my sister happen to become a couple, you may be here often, therefore knowing the layout of the house may be useful, sir!”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Levi was genuinely surprised that that was the answer coming out of Kory’s mouth. He has never put much thought towards finding a woman to settle down with. He was humanity’s strongest warrior, and he had a duty. It was too difficult to think about living long enough to have his own family much less a wife. “The tour was shit.” he mumbled, walking back to the kitchen, to find you had already set out plates with food and were waiting for the guys to return before you started eating. His eyes fell to the plates, eyeing mashed potatoes and carrots and toasted bread with what looked like melted cheese. The men sat down and thanked you for the meal and started eating quietly. Kory was trying to figure out what was with Levi’s reaction, but couldn’t get anywhere with it, so he figured he’d leave it alone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________You happily watched them eat. You’ve never had a complaint about your cooking even though it was essentially the same stuff all the time. Meat hardly ever came your way, only a few times a year. The new year, and on your birthdays. You made sure to always save up the money to buy meat for those special occasions, and even then, it was a scarce pull. There wasn’t enough livestock for everyone within the walls to have meat every day. In fact, you just remembered, your birthday was next month. You happily munched while you wondered what meat you would grab this time._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________Kory promptly retired for the night, as the scouts had a meeting first thing in the early morning. Levi however needed to do more paperwork so he had no bedtime for the moment. “Thank you for the meal, it was nice.” Levi told you, helping clean up the dishes. He has been quiet all night, and you wondered if he ever talks more than this. “Of course! And here, I made you a small pouch of black tea with chamomile.” You offered shyly. “To help keep you attentive tonight as I’m sure paperwork is your main goal, but the chamomile will help your muscles relax after helping here, and hopefully you’ll feel more refreshed for your next trip.” Levi took the pouch and stared at you for a moment._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“You’re really kind. We haven’t known each other for even this long and you just...know. To pick up on the little things.” he said, and you weren’t really sure how to respond to that. “I love people. I just want to make people happy, you know? We live in such fear and doubt, I want to try to spread love where I can.” you openly admitted. He watched you, fondness starting to grow. _We need more people like you. _Is what Levi wanted to say, but thought better of it.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________You showed him to the front door and wished him well, secretly a little sad that he wouldn’t be here tomorrow for a third day. You could finish painting without him, you decided. It’s not like it was that hard. As soon as the butterflies in your stomach disappeared, you willed yourself to sleep, thinking of a good way to send Kory off._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YIKES I took some liberties here. Honestly, I haven't read the manga so I could be missing info on canon AoT stuff, but I'm going to keep taking liberties when it comes to the type of resources and luxury items that they have available.


	7. The Youngest Brother

You woke to extreme heat and chattering coming from the street outside. You rubbed your eyes, trying to get the groggy feeling out so you could get up and figure out what the hell was going on. You walked out of your bedroom into your brothers’, only to have your stomach drop. Kory wasn’t there. He must have left early, and that made you sad. You always tried to give Kory a good morning before scout duty, trying to put his mind at ease. Clearly you couldn't do that this time.

By the time you pulled shorts and a tank top on and walked to the main road outside, what seemed like half of your town’s population were conversing, some looking angry, some looking scared. You had an immense bad feeling, as you followed some of their gazes. 

“They’re leaving a day early!”

“What do they mean, they’re using a Titan to help?”

“Didn’t you hear? That new boy in Levi’s squad can turn into a titan. He’s gonna help take back Shiganshina!”

You looked back and forth between different civilians talking amongst themselves, the voices steadily getting louder. You moved forwards towards the wall as much as you could, to find Levi’s squad who would most likely be together. The top of the cement barrier was lined with scouts, which told you it was a bigger plan than you imagined. You frantically searched through the green hooded soldiers, trying to find him.

Erwin Smith started a speech, which led your eyes right to him, and from there you saw Levi next to him, looking as serious as you’ve ever seen him. _That’s Levi, so Kory should be… _There he was, right next to Levi. His height was taller than some of his comrades, which was funny because you knew he was the youngest member. You waved, and kept your arm up so that he could see you. When you saw his figure wave back before getting back into position, you at least felt better for being able to say goodbye.__

__Like everyone else, Erwin’s speech had you freaking out about everyone’s safety. Levi and Kory’s faces flashed in your mind, them both eating with you last night, and your eyes started to well up. You’ve always placed your trust in the scouts, and you couldn’t falter now. At the sudden sound of everyone’s approval with the commander’s shouts, you joined, hoping for the best for everyone. “Bye Kory, be safe.” you said to no one but yourself, wondering if Dillon was in the crown cheering your little brother on as well._ _

___________________________________________________________________________ _

__Kory screamed, scrambling out of the way of incoming boulder rain. “Get inside a house or behind a wall!” he yelled at a soldier that he had no memory of meeting. The mission was going to shit, corpses had been laid around all over the old town of Shiganshina. He was lucky to have made it this far, and he didn’t have a clue as to what side was winning right now. He knew Eren was somewhere towards the hole, yet no flares have gone off yet signaling the success of plugging it._ _

__“Brat! Erwin wants people to start gathering horses to head out once we can get out of this boulder mess!” the captain shouted at Kory, running to join him inside the nearest house. The roof was absolutely obliterated, yet the trajectory of the rocks falling in gave Kory the idea that the houses should shield them more than being out in the open at least._ _

__“Sir! I’m just projecting my own fear and hopelessness here, but I doubt half of us are gonna make it back home!” the taller man said, leaning against a wall shouting over the noise of rubble and screaming. Levi looked down at the splintered wooden floor they were sitting on. “Yeah, that’s probably true.” he said lowly, scared to look Kory in the eyes. He grew close to Kory because of all the time he’s been spending at their house the past few days. Briefly, Levi wondered if you were angry that you couldn't see both him and your brother before you left. The decision was sudden and not everyone was happy about it clearly. But the brass wanted to launch it as a surprise attack mission rather than wait around and have the enemy be more prepared as the hours passed._ _

__Kory lowered his gaze to the floor as well, slumping slightly. “I have someone I wish I could admit my feelings to, before I die.” he croaked out, tears building in the corners of his eyes. Levi just stayed quiet, letting his comrade speak. If anything, he wanted his soldiers to speak their mind freely when they felt defeated. They deserved as much to live how they wanted to while risking everything they had, for humanity’s sake._ _

__“Lee is so beautiful.” Kory let out a laugh. “She’s slender, and strong. And her legs stretch for days. Her smile and laugh are infectious.” The tears were falling down his face now, as the realization hit that he probably couldn’t say any of this to her, if she was even still alive. “And her stupid competitions with Ira. She gets so invested. Captain, tell her I love her. Please.”_ _

__Levi said nothing, expecting the younger man to continue until he broke down, but Kory shifted the conversation. “Levi,” he dared to not use any honorific. “Please continue to visit my sister.” At this, the older man looked up at Kory, confused but not denying that he wouldn’t do so. “She enjoys having you over. And it’s not my place, but she’s always had a thing for you, and wanted you to enjoy her tea, no matter how much she changed it.” His tears didn’t stop, as he thought about his older sister. “Levi, she means the world to me. Our good for nothing brother is drinking too much, and taking it out on her. She just wants everyone around her to be happy, to feel loved. And she hasn’t had much of it in return. I’m not saying marry my sister, but please keep her company. Hell knows my brother won’t.” he said, putting his head in his hands, resting his elbows on his knees which were pulled up to his chest at this point._ _

__Levi had no words, as the anguish started to fill his heart. How could anyone expect him to make a promise like that, when it was expected for him to die at any moment? He sighed and clasped a hand on Kory’s shoulder. “Living is when you can feel these emotions, and even better on acting them out. When you walk out of this house, no matter what happens brat, you’ve lived.” He said, before walking away. He needed to find Erwin, they needed to close out this battle. He wanted his soldiers to go home with a major victory for once. Even with the several fatalities he walked by._ _

__An hour passed of fighting, and Kory still hadn’t found Lee, or any of his squad members. It was normal, seeing as how everyone was forced to split and take cover. However, the rest of the soldiers in the scout regiment had clear orders. Ride a horse to the front lines, and charge at the line of titans, giving your life for the victory. As if that’s not what everyone has been doing this whole time._ _

__The words the captain gave Kory filled him with purpose. He was living. He was experiencing it. That was enough to go out with a bang, he figured. His ODM gear was out of gas, and he had one blade left, so it’s not like he could fight well when it came down to it. Surrounded by strangers that shared the same goal, they charged. No one understood the importance of the suicide rush, but Erwin led the way, screaming for everyone’s trust._ _

__At the ready, every soldier fired a green flare, trying to blind the beast titan’s vision, to make him lose his accuracy with his rock pitching. “Fuck them all! Let’s prove we can outsmart them!” Kory yelled to his nearest comrades, kicking the stirrups into his horse’s sides. As they rode full speed, Kory’s blue eyes landed on someone flying from titan to titan, blood spraying and ground shaking with each thud of the corpses. _That’s right. Our captain is the strongest. He’s going to help us win this battle. _____

____As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a boulder came flying in his direction. The next few seconds were all a blur, as the rock collided with Kory’s horse, sending his steed falling to the ground and him rolling off to the side after being thrown off. “Ah fuck! Shit dude!” he yelled, grasping his side, feeling warmth spread over his shirt. He could barely bend his abdomen enough to see what happened. Straining to look down, his eyes widened as his brain was catching up from initial shock._ _ _ _

____His last blade was chipped, and a large shard was pierced through his shirt and skin, causing extreme bleeding. His mind was already getting clouded, and he laughed. For as long as Kory could remember, he wasn’t good with blood and gore, easily influenced by it to the point of passing out at a small wound. No one knew why he joined the scouts knowing this about him, but he persevered, keeping his friends and family in mind so he could ignore it. The stinging was so much, and tears once more fell from his already swollen eyes. Kory turned over to look at the line of titans, needing to see how successful Levi was._ _ _ _

____His darkening blue eyes landed on the small blip of Levi’s form, watching him swing to the large fuzzy figure. Whatever was happening exactly, Kory couldn’t tell. He was too far away and clearly dying to be able to try to focus harder. The rocks stopped flying and the sound of horse hooves on the grassy ground were fading. Kory’s comrades were wailing in agony if not already dead, and he laid flat on his back, looking up at the clouded bright blue sky, and dispersing green smoke. “I lived, Captain Levi.” he mumbled, looking at the beauty of nature, not wanting his last breaths and sights being devastation, but that of pure life. The kind of life that his sister strived for everyone to see in their everyday motions. His shirt was soaked on the side now, and he closed his eyes, feeling every spike of pain start to subdue. In his mind, finally resting was a personal victory, and he let his heart slowly stop pumping, not fighting it._ _ _ _

_______________________________________________________________________________ _ _ _

____Levi walked with his horse next to his side, covered in dried blood and body aching. Somewhere behind him, he heard Lee sniffling, clinging to her horse’s neck, nuzzling it to give her some sort of comfort. Connie and Sasha were walking hand in hand, not daring to speak, through everyone’s grieving. Ira was close by Lee, ready to give her support if she just fully broke down from losing another friend. Ira himself seemed numb, having lost his other best friend a week after the first one._ _ _ _

____People were lining the streets ready to welcome back the rest of the scouts, eyes peeled for who was left standing. Angry voices started to mix in with sobs, and it was Levi’s least favorite part of coming back to life inside the walls. Years of losing people who worked beside him, comrades of who he became closer to, nothing ever helps, and it gets worse and worse the more he has to bare it. His eyes wandered, realizing he was getting close to the business streets. His stomach dropped when he saw you, eagerly pushing to the front of the line to get a view. He couldn’t stop walking, everyone needed to get to the barracks and go through the ritual of reporting the dead, cleaning gear, doing paperwork. Oh, the mass amounts of death certificates Levi was going to have to sign and hand out. And once again his mind drifted back to you. He looked at your face fall, with the realization your brother wasn’t in the line of soldiers, the tears starting to leave your beautiful eyes._ _ _ _

____Definitely Levi’s least favorite part of returning home._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this was sorta hard for me I guess because Kory and Dillon are based on my own two brothers.
> 
> RIP Kory.
> 
> Tell me what you thought?


	8. The Envelope

It had been a few days since humanity’s army came back to town, minus some very important people. You heard about the people like Erwin, who you couldn’t believe died. You didn’t think he’d ever go, everyone loved him and trusted him til the very end. And Kory...it hurt so much, no matter what you did. You tried distracting yourself in the store, cleaning the house, taking walks, but nothing took the hurt from your heart. What made it worse was Dillon hasn’t come home at all. You didn’t even know if he heard the news yet, and it made you sick thinking about telling him yourself.

You hadn’t eaten much since that day, afraid you would start crying again and throw it back up. Today was the first day that you really felt like you could go back to work and stay focused the whole time. You pulled on a yellow dress, the bottom hem coming out to flow, and it hugged your waist, and hung low to showcase a good amount of cleavage. The straps were thin, which you were okay with. You hated dresses to begin with, and only wore them to help make you feel better. The way the air passed between your legs was just so comfortable and with the summer heat still sticking around, it meant less sweat in general. Your hair was off of your shoulders, which you also hated the feeling of. Some days you wondered what it would be like if you just cut it really short. 

You were downstairs, mixing up some small canisters of paint for decorating when you heard the door open. You turned to give a smile but quickly faltered when you saw Levi walk through the front door with an envelope in his hand. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes showing that he must have been up for hours since he came back home. His dark irises looked around the bright green store front, picking up the little accents you’ve added while he’s been gone. Currently you were working on a border design for the wall behind the service counter. 

“It looks good in here.” he spoke up first, slowly taking in the detail of the shop as he crossed the room towards you. You knew why he was here and it already wasn’t easy. Your tears came before you could think to hold them in. He heard your sniffle and his eyes rested on you, trying to wipe them away as fast as they dropped. “I’m sorry.” Was all he could manage to say, and you let out a sob and ran into him and hugged his waist, knocking him back a couple of steps. He stiffened at the sudden contact, and all of his grief came back. Physical affection didn’t come his way often, but with you, he didn’t mind it, even if it did seem foreign. His arms slowly wrapped around you, pulling you into him. 

“It hurts so much, Levi...I miss him. I-” you were cut off by another sob, sadness choking your throat. He gripped you a little tighter, willing to give you the comfort you needed. “I know, I know. I’m here.” he offered, as you looked at him. His eyes showed his own anguish, and you wanted to take it from him, because it was the worst thing in the world to handle. Before you could second guess it, your hand found his cheek, and you leaned in to kiss him, wanting to find solace with his company. 

The man’s eyes widened at your sudden show of fondness, and Kory’s words played back in his head. _Be there for her, please. _He wanted to be, he wanted to let someone into his comfort zone. And this was a good way to start. He leaned into the kiss, accepting your tearful kiss, and to your surprise, he let it go on for a moment more.__

__“I-I’m really sorry, I know that that was out of nowhere and…” you said, still in his arms. Your face was warm from both crying and kissing such a beautiful man. He watched the way you reacted and he put on a small smile. “Listen. There’s a time for this, and I don’t think it’s right now.” Your face fell a little, excitement turning into anxiety. What did you just do? “Hey hey, get out of your head.” he whispered, kissing your forehead before stepping away. He would be lying if he said he didn’t want more, but you both are dealing with close deaths, and he didn’t want to take advantage of your fragile feelings._ _

__You eyed the envelope in his hand once more. He noticed your gaze, and outstretched his hand to you, and bowed, offering it to you professionally. “I am deeply sorry for your loss. Please accept this official certificate as our acknowledgment of Kory’s service to the Scout Regiment.”_ _

__You smiled and accepted, wiping another tear from your cheek. “Kory wanted to be with you guys since he was little...and I’m very proud of him. He achieved his dream. I just hope that...it wasn’t...painful.” you managed to get out before crying some more. Levi knew it wasn’t going to be easy. From everything he knew, you basically raised your brothers by yourself and kept the business running, all without complaining or breaking down with faults of your own. “I’m technically on duty. I’ll come back soon, okay?” he said, softness in his voice._ _

__You nodded your head, waving goodbye to him as he left your store. All of a sudden, the kiss you shared flashed in your mind and instantly you were smiling again. He tasted like tea and sugar, no doubt his comfort drink as he worked tirelessly. You wanted to taste more of him._ _

__________________________________________________________________ _

__It was late and Levi found himself rubbing his temples, eyes growing tired of the strain of looking at writing on paper. How much longer was he going to sit as this damn desk and fill out death certificates? He glanced at his master list of names of the deceased and sighed. He needed a break._ _

__Walking down the hallway of all captain and commander’s offices, it was quiet. As a captain of one of the most important squads there was, he abandoned his home with Kenny that he grew up in to stay in the soldier barracks, eventually gaining his own room when he moved up in positions. It was connected to his office which was handy for more than one reason._ _

__He reminded himself of those perks as he relieved himself in the public bathroom. One: He could take care of as much paperwork as possible every single day and just walk to his bed to sleep once he had his fill. Two: It made for quick work when he needed to take care of himself in a sexual way. Three: He didn’t have to deal with annoying dumbasses who fell off their beds, or drooled, or talked in their sleep. It was his least favorite part sharing sleeping quarters when he was younger, besides sharing the mess hall currently with his soldiers once in a while. Most of them were pigs, sloppily eating and having no manners._ _

__Back in his office now, he shut his door quietly and ignored his work desk, heading right to his bedroom. He had a modest but large bed that took up most of the small living quarters, a small wooden dresser, and a curio cabinet with tea sets that he’s indulged with over the years. Almost no one knew about his collection of ceramic teacups._ _

__He undressed, opting for a pair of long john pants and no shirt for bed time. Laying down on top of his blanket, he folded his arms behind his head. It’s been a long couple of days, nonstop hand delivering envelopes. The only thing he got out of it today, was his kiss with you. He hasn’t had any personal affection in years, and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He let his thoughts become distracted with images of you, in your yellow sun dress, the cloth flowing around your legs. Your breasts were his favorite size and you always knew how to present them well._ _

__His hand wandered down beneath his waistband, grabbing onto his dick which was springing to life with the images of you today in mind. He instantly felt more aroused as soon as he touched himself, inhaling a sharp breath. He should have felt guilty for pleasing himself using you, without having courted you properly or even have taken you out. But you both knew he didn’t have time for such leisurely things. He brought his hand up and down, feeling every ridge and pulse. It’s been a while since he’s had free time and energy to do this and it felt good. Your shared kiss came to mind and he was frustrated at the fact he was so awkward about it. He was sure he was older than you, and yet he was acting like it’s the first time he’s ever been indulged in a fucking kiss for fuck’s sake. He picked up his speed, remembering what it felt like when you cupped his cheek, and pressed into him. He was always well aware of his height compared to others, and was definitely more than okay with the fact that you had a few inches on him._ _

__Next time he kissed you, he would make sure to do it properly. His grip tightened around his dick, already feeling pathetic for nearing his release. His imagination turned dirtier, wanting to know what you looked like when he slipped you out of that dress. Your supple breasts with no support, your waist calling him to mark it with his mouth, your pretty little lips saying his name. “Fuck, I want _her _“ he finished, spilling himself over onto his chest with a few good pumps. He realized it was a good thing he didn’t wear a shirt to bed, then. The tired man cleaned himself up with his work shirt from today and tossed it back into his dirty laundry pile. He could at least fall asleep promptly tonight now that he jacked off, but his heart was still beating faster because maybe he grew too fond for a certain florist.___ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but fun chapter? Eh, eh?


	9. The Kiss

A month had passed since Levi last came to your store, and you couldn’t tell how you felt about that. You knew you both needed time to heal before you rushed into anything, but it still didn’t mean that you missed him and wished he came through the front door any moment. His company was nice, even when he didn’t speak much.

It was starting to get colder in the mornings, and today you decided to dress yourself in thicker loose pants, and a long sleeve burgundy shirt that clung to your skin. Any warmth you could get, you would take. The cold seemed to come earlier than usual this year, so you were scared of your plants dying prematurely and having to close up shop. You were sat on a stool writing through budget plans on some scrap paper when you heard the front door open. You rolled your eyes as your new daily annoyance walked through the door.

“Good afternoon, beautiful.” he said, waltzing right up to the counter and placing a hand on it and leaning towards you. “Hello, Kevin. Welcome back.” You replied, not even looking up to give him the satisfaction of your attention. He had been coming in every day for the last two weeks making an ass out of himself trying to gain your favor. If it’s one thing you could control more in your life, it would be to never go on a date with him. “Slow business as usual, eh?” he peered around with an indifferent look on his face. He was a small time merchant, trying to compete with the Reeve’s company, which you could care less about. 

“How can I help you today, Kevin?” you asked, trying to finish up the math in your head. You had lots of work to do to prepare for the winter season. The last thing you needed was someone distracting you with pointless loitering. He looked back at you, hazel eyes moving up and down your body. “Can’t a wealthy man stop into his favorite store and try to woo a pretty lady without judgement?” he asked, now leaning on his elbows onto the counter. You were getting frustrated with each passing day that he did this. “Kevin, I have serious work to do, okay? Unlike you, I do all the work myself and when you come in here, I’m forced to look away from responsibilities and treat you like a customer.” You finally looked up, setting your pen down with a sigh. You eyed his hair, hating the stupid swoosh that his bangs did in front of one of his eyes. 

“Honey, you know that if you accepted me and went on some dates with me, maybe we could marry and you wouldn’t have to worry about this rundown shop anymore.” Your eyes flashed and you stood up from the stool. “I have put so much work into this store, you don’t get to come in here and tell me its worth.” You said, gritting your teeth. You have to remind yourself he’s on customer hours and you can’t afford slander of treating someone poorly. Kevin just grinned in response, daring you to keep going. “You need someone like me, sweetie. The day you admit it, you’ll be much happier.” He said, standing back to full height and walking behind the counter towards you. He had a good half a foot over you, and you stood up to him, not intimidated in the slightest. 

The door opened again and you flinched back, not wanting the chance of someone seeing a confrontation. Your heart skipped a beat when you saw the man you’ve been missing step in. Levi’s eyes landed on how close you two were, and took in the details. The first thing he noticed was how furious you were looking up at this man he had never seen before, and the second was the way this smug ass was smirking just inches from you. _Too close. _Levi thought to himself.__

__“Clover, you okay?” he asked you, looking like he was about to maul Kevin if you gave the word. “Kevin here is fine.” you replied, stepping past the taller man and extending a hand towards the door. “He was just leaving after I denied his business proposal. Again.” Kevin’s eyes narrowed at you, getting upset. “Have it your way then, baby.” He said before leaving the shop, not looking back at you gawking at him._ _

__Levi watched him walk out then turned to look at you with an eyebrow quirked. Now it was just you two in the shop. “Was he giving you trouble?” Levi asked you, patiently waiting. You sighed and shook your head, running your fingers through your hair. “He just….wants to marry me for some unknown reason. Says I’ll be happy when I marry him for money. I don’t know why he wants me particularly.” You admitted. Levi just hummed, not knowing what to say or how to feel about it._ _

__You closed the distance between you both in the room. “Enough about me, how have you been?” you asked timidly, not sure where you two stood, since there hasn't been any contact for a month. You realized how much you were hanging on to, even if it was just a kiss. He watched you, eyes growing softer by the minute. “The grief doesn’t get better. But I’m here.” Levi answered with a simple response. He looked at you, took in the sight of you. Your hair got a little longer. “You?” he asked in return. You smiled and looked around you. “Nightmares have stopped. I’m still sad, and I miss him. A lot. But I’m much better.” you said with a quiet voice._ _

__That was good enough for Levi. “Glad to hear it. I see the details you put on the walls. Very pretty.” He was trying to control himself from just grabbing you. More than once throughout the past weeks he’s thought of you, and went back and forth on deciding if it was smart to pursue anything with you. The missions kept him busy enough, and he never expected to live every time, so would you even be happy with a partner like him? Anything could happen to either of you at any moment._ _

__You got excited and ran to the sale side of the store, animatedly pointing out the new additions. “So! You were right about the plants standing out against the brightly colored wall, which I am so thankful for because honestly I never would have thought about it! And these are the plants up front which can survive the cold weather better, and then over here, are the tea plants which can hold up through winter as well. I already have others planted and started upstairs, and if I’m going to keep going with tea even more next year, I already have plans to mess with the roof and turn it into a garden so that I have extra growing space.” You were rambling a mile a minute, trying to catch Levi up to speed on everything that's been happening. He watched you, following along intently to every piece of information. His eyes also wandered over you when you weren’t looking. He mused to himself that those loose pants and a tight shirt was a good combination. The shirt accentuated your top half and the way the pants hung on your hips, waiting to show off your waist at any second, was such a tease. He could smack himself for being so willing to take you._ _

__You noticed the way he wasn’t saying anything and you watched him for a second, realizing he had just been staring at you. A blush crept on your cheeks, and you looked up at the ceiling, too embarrassed to make eye contact. “Like what you see?” You teased him, daring him to open up and admit that something was there, even after not seeing each other for a while._ _

__Levi’s eyes snapped back to yours after you said something, and his face was dead set serious. “I have since day one.” he said matter of factly, folding his arms across his chest. Your mouth gaped slightly at his blunt comment. “Oh.” was all you said. You walked back to the counter, wanting to sit down out of embarrassment. You really couldn’t help getting flustered like this, it’s what you’ve been wanting, and now that you have it, you don’t know how to react. Levi followed behind you, all the way to behind the counter. He felt like he should stay close to you._ _

__“Oh is all you can say?” he said in a low tone, and you looked up at him. Something in his gaze made you feel tingly and you swallowed your nerves away. You weren’t wearing the most revealing outfit so you had to try to use other things. Your gaze flickered to his waist and back up, smiling widely. “Did you miss me?” you asked, licking your lips. He looked down at you with a small smirk and it quickly went away. “What is this, twenty questions?” With any other girl he would get straight to the point, but this was fun, and he actually liked you for who you were._ _

__“No, but it could be.” you grinned even harder. “Have you missed me?” you dared to ask again, standing up and taking a step closer to Levi, seeing him stiffen just slightly. He feigned looking thoughtful, to tease you about it slightly. He was going to try to mess with you. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.” he said, shrugging. Your heart fluttered, and you rested a hand on one of his arms that was still crossed in front of him. “Do you want to kiss me again?” You asked, skipping what seemed like most of the questions you could have asked before getting to this part. Not expecting anything to happen, you yelped into the mouth that suddenly closed around yours. Levi grabbed your waist, pulling you into him, thumbs tracing your hip bones. You practically melted to his touch, and you felt like you had to respond to his first move. You dipped your tongue into his mouth, and let out a small moan as he backed you up into the wall, pressing his lower half into yours._ _

__He pulled away, both of you panting slightly. “Does that answer your question?” he asked, mind swimming with different thoughts. Your hands were wandering downwards, and you smirked when one of them found his crotch. He tilted his head downward just slightly. “Careful there, ma’am. Risky business, while your store is still open.” He said and you took that as a challenge. One of your hands unbuttoned his pants and reached in, grasping his erection. It proved he wanted what he saw, at least. Suddenly your nerves kicked in and he saw the hesitation from your body language. He didn’t say anything but instead grabbed your hand from his pants, brought it up to his lips and kissed it._ _

__“We can take this slow. I want to do it properly, because I never give anyone the chance.” he admitted. “I want to do it right.” You looked at him, suddenly feeling like you wanted to cry from embarrassment and awkwardness. “Do what right?” you asked him, heart beating so hard from being so close to him still. He took a step away from you and refastened his buttons. “You’ll see. For now I wanted to at least let you know I’m still here.” he said, hoping you would catch on to all the meaning that statement had. Of course you couldn’t read minds so you were now just confused and turned on. Why did you hesitate? You’ve only been with a man one other time and it wasn’t pleasant. You were young and wanted to make decisions for yourself rather than let your brothers and father be responsible for everything you did. You wanted sex but with a man like Levi, who took your breath away, you didn’t want to mess it up. Make him dislike you for your lack of experience._ _

__The raven haired man placed a kiss on your cheek and backed up from you once again. “I need to go. I want to be able to catch up on my own office work before it gets out of hand. I’ll be back soon.”_ _

__You watched him walk out your door once more, touching your lips with a smile. You squealed and jumped up and down a few times before settling back down, needing to keep composure if anyone else walked in._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I've been packing and moving and made myself sick from over-working. Anyways, I hope you like the chapter, and don't worry, it'll pick up real soon :)


	10. The First Date

The sun was shining bright as light blue eyes looked out towards the graciously clear sky. Dillon sighed, getting up out of his small stiff bed at the MP barracks. He lost count of how many nights he’s spent away from home. Rubbing his temples to try to relieve the migraine he had, he stood up in his boxers and walked to his small clothes rack. Another day, another dollar. _Another drink. _The young man looked around his room and didn’t see any full bottles, or any half ones either. He pulled on his work uniform, and laced his boots up before running into his roommate at the door.__

__“Dillon...waking up late again I see.” Hitch said to him, eyeing his bed head and lack of life to his eyes. He stiffened at the sight of her. The MP dorms were co-ed but he still couldn’t get used to seeing her. Something about her aloof way of going through life, and her beautiful green eyes pulled him in. He hated feeling like he had a crush on someone when he could hardly control his own life’s details. “Hitch get outta my way.” he muttered, moving past her. She watched him walk away and decided to follow him down to the breakfast hall. He was starving and needed something in his belly before he puked. Drinking every day was not a great diet but he couldn’t help it. He’s tried._ _

__Hitch and Dillon grabbed food in silence and sat at the same table, Hitch eating slower. “You know, I keep going to wake you up because I don’t want you getting in trouble for oversleeping.” She said, eating her bread in small tears. Dillon just ignored her and slurped up his eggs. Breakfast here was unseasoned but plentiful, unlike home. You made good food, sure. But couldn’t afford much on your own without the help of your brother’s paychecks. Now with Kory gone, that was just one more income lost. And he wasn’t about to hand over his money that he works for to someone who does nothing but belittle him._ _

__Hitch finished her plate shortly after Dillon did and took his for him to dispose of it. “I’ll see you later, don’t be a dumbass.” she said, before leaving him for the day. They both had separate duties which saved him from constant annoyance. The only downside to his job was how boring his post was, and he assumed that’s why it was so easy to drink with his comrades. It passed the time and left him feeling good for the end of the night._ _

__As the now youngest alive child, he felt the constant struggle of if he should make amends with you and keep the family bonds tight, or if it was okay to just let go. He was already pissed more often than not at you for acting like his parent, and clearly you didn’t care as much about Kory’s death. He knew you had feelings for Levi, that’s all you got excited over when it came to talking about things at the dinner table. The blonde tripped mid-thought and looked down at his left boot, seeing the bottom of it falling apart. “Great. I can’t work like this.” he grumbled, thinking what to do. He could go request a new pair of work boots but it would come out of his paycheck. He then remembered he had an extra uniform pair at the house, in his room. He hadn’t been there since his brother died and he couldn’t bring himself to look around in his shared room._ _

__At least he could swing by the liquor keep on his way back from the house, he thought. He would need it if he had to see you. As much as he hated coming around the house, there was slight guilt every time he yelled at you, or hated you. The morning that he hit you had him blackout drunk that night. Nothing could make him feel better about that. He just wished you would keep your mouth shut. He could make his own decisions._ _

__He rounded the corner and came up to the family’s building. Maybe he could avoid you, he thought. Dillon walked up the stairs and tried opening the side door to the house, just to be denied. _The door is locked?_ With a huff he went back downstairs. So much for that plan. He walked through the front of the shop and saw you standing there, painting some kind of banner on the back wall. You looked at him, and your eyes softened a bit when you saw who it is, sadness cropping up in your brain._ _

__He looked at you and sighed, walking past and up the back set of stairs. “I’m just grabbing something from upstairs.” your brother grumbled, not bothering for a hug or any pleasantries. You said nothing as he trudged away from you._ _

__Dillon stormed right into his room and froze, seeing too many things that could haunt him. The two boys drew posters while growing up, and those were all tacked on the wall. In fact, nothing changed in the room. At least his sister had the decency to not immediately get rid of everything. One day he knew you would though, and really, he couldn’t stop you. He tried making his position as obvious as possible, that he didn’t consider this is home anymore. He rounded back to the kitchen and looked around to the random things he saw laid about._ _

__First was a flower vase, with what looked like weeds put in there. Next to it was a small box of brown squares. There was also a hairpin and what looked like a handwritten card folded and propped up against the vase. His eyebrow perked up and against his better judgement, picked it up to read it._ _

___Hello Beautiful,_ _ _

___I hope your day is filled with smiles and good fortune._ _ _

___I’ll see you tonight and perhaps we can indulge and go for a walk together._ _ _

___Take care of yourself_ _ _

___L_ _ _

__Setting the card back down, Dillon couldn’t figure out his thoughts. Who was L and when did you start a relationship? Weren’t you still grieving over Kory? Did you have time for such feelings? He hated this. He unlocked the side door and left down the alley way staircase. Fuck coming back here for a while._ _

___________________________________________________________________________ _

__It had been a while since you’ve seen Dillon so you figured he escaped through the side route. You paid no mind. It frustrated the hell out of you that your own brother couldn’t talk to you, but you gave him space to try to sort through his own problems._ _

__You closed up the shop, flipping the sign to say CLOSED. Walking upstairs, your eyes landed on your table full of small gifts and you smiled. He has been leaving a surprise gift outside your front door every few days, and when you got the letter this morning, your stomach filled with butterflies every time you thought about it. Was it a date? Would you hold hands? You were as excited as you were nervous._ _

__You quickly washed up, deciding to use your newest investment. Sweet soap. You took soap and essentially melted it back down, added some spices or flowers to it, and let it reharden. Then, when applied, it made you smell so good. Today’s flavor was thornberry. It left a faint sweet smell and turned the soap a light purple-pink. You had also secretly hoped Levi would get close enough to smell it on you._ _

__Now with the colder nights, you had to make sure you wore something that would keep you warm enough. You put on thick tight black pants, laced up black boots, and a deep green sweater that hung right past your behind. You also decided to wear a knit black hat that a friend made for you to keep your ears warm. Deciding you looked pretty damn good enough for a walk, you went to open the side door and almost crashed right into Levi who looked like he was mid knock. “Levi! I’m sorry!” you squeaked, heart beating fast both out of quick shock and the fact that he looked _damn good.__ _

__Your man of interest was wearing black dress shoes, black pants, a white button up, and a black jacket to go over it. Very formal, but you had a feeling he was always formal. He was a soldier after all, and you figured it just came with the occupation in most cases. Levi looked you up and down and didn’t say anything, which was making you grow more self conscious by the second. “Are you going to be warm enough?” he asked, and you could have laughed at it. That’s all he had to say? “Me? I look like I have more layers on than you do! Plus, I have a hat.” You said, tugging on the side of the black wool for emphasis. “Hmph. Ready?” He asked, extending an arm out for you to take. You smiled shyly and nodded your head, before closing the door behind you._ _

__The two of you walked through the business part of town, and you were the one doing most of the talking. You chatted about who could be considered a competitor, who you enjoyed giving your business to, and what were your favorite spots to visit to relax. It was mostly small talk, because you didn’t have anyone to talk to like this on a normal daily basis. Your eyes looked over at his, as he watched the path in front of him. “Sorry if it’s a boring discussion.” you said quietly. Grey eyes found yours and he shrugged. “It’s not.” You felt a pang of doubt. “Then how come you haven’t said much?”_ _

__He was the one leading you around now, as you never wandered outside of the business district too much. You never felt the need to honestly. Everything you needed was within reach. However as you continued to walk, you were noticing the buildings getting farther apart and soon you saw the river that ran through between the walls and came up to a small park by a bridge. Levi’s lips perked into a smile before it dropped again. _Too stoic sometimes._ You mused. “It’s nice hearing you talk about things that you want to talk about. You’re happy and I don’t want to interrupt that.” He said as he motioned for you two to sit down on a bench. The sky was dark and you could see stars twinkling. “Some input would be nice.” you laughed. He was quiet but you believed him. _ _

__You two sat next to each other and just looked around at other people going about their lives, but you found yourself looking up at the sky longer and longer. It always captivated you. You leaned your head onto Levi’s shoulder and put your hands together in your lap. He allowed you to do the motion and he smelled something sweet all of a sudden. “You smell good.” was all he said, eyes looking at your lap. The word ‘Thanks’ was lost when your thigh felt a warm hand rest on it. Your eyes flickered down and then over. Levi was watching you and you couldn’t resist. You lifted your head again and slowly leaned in to start a steady kiss. He didn’t waste any time as his hand gripped your thigh and he seemingly enthusiastically responded to the kiss._ _

__Your stomach and groin were apparently on the same page. This was nerve wracking but he tasted _so good_. And you wanted more, but clearly this was not the place. You broke the kiss first, seeing small puffs of your hot breath come into the cool air. You wanted to be alluring and daring. “Now what?” You asked softly, a smirk on your wet lips. His eyes flickered around, taking in their environment, seeing how many risks there could be if he continued. Deciding he could handle anything that happened, he caught your mouth in his again, and agonizingly brought his hand up your thigh, caressing every step of the way. Your moan was caught by Levi’s tongue encasing yours as his fingers pressed the cloth of your pants onto your clit. Your outside leg came over to rest on top of the other, to hide what he was doing to you in public. _ _

__You brought a hand up to cup his cheek as you continued kissing, then snaked around his nape into his hair so you could have something to grip on him as you tried to control your grinding into his rubbing fingers. Damn, you wished the cloth wasn’t there. Just then, you wanted to grab him so bad. He could sense you trying to reach over to him and he pulled away. “Now, that would be too obvious.” he said, voice surprisingly low with arousal. Your bottom lip pursed out into a pout. He put his thumb on it, rubbing along the soft skin. “Stay here like a good girl, I want to see your face in the moonlight.” he gently commanded, and you could have moaned out loud just at that._ _

__His fingers gained speed and force, and your eyes wandered around the public space. While you were distracted, Levi easily slipped his hand down inside your waistband and underneath your underwear to get inside himself. You squeaked feeling his slender fingers enter you and he clicked his tongue. “Uh uh, you can’t make those kinds of noises outside. What if someone hears you?” he teased. You melted into the crook of his neck, and panted as his fingers delved inside of you as far as they could reach with this angle. It wasn’t the best position but he was doing a damn good job at getting you off this way._ _

__Already you felt yourself close, and it was coming fast. “L-Levi..” you breathed against his neck, starting to jut your hips towards his hand. “Good girl.” he said next to your ear, kissing your cheek. “Let go for me, show me your pleasure.” He said, pulling back to look you in the eyes as your face reddened and you felt your walls clench. You bit your bottom lip and squeezed your eyes shut as you felt a quick orgasm erupt through your body. You were shuddering from the sudden burst of pleasure endorphins and Levi retracted his hand once you calmed down from your little high. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his fingers on it. “Filthy.” was all he said but with obvious approval._ _

__You just stared at him, and burst out in a fit of giggles. He looked at you and let out a chuckle himself. “What’s so funny?” he asked you, shoving the piece of cloth back where he pulled it from. You fixed your hat that was askew and looked around you. “No one suspected a thing! You just...did that!” You said in a loud whisper._ _

__The Captain looked at you and stood up, offering a hand towards you. You grabbed it and he led you back in the direction of your home. “I’d love to do more. But in due time.” he said, still a little upset with himself that he pushed that. It would at least give him something to think about later tonight._ _

__You looked at him on the doorstep of your home and couldn’t help but blurt out the thoughts that have been swirling in your head the past few days. “Are we officially seeing each other?” you asked after you had unlocked your door. Turning around to his quiet demeanor, his eyes took you a bit by surprise. They looked sad at first, then returned to normal. “What do you think, dumbass?” he said, and you giggled but got playfully defensive. “I don’t know! Nothing has been said yet and-” you were cut off with a kiss, not heated like in the park. But more tender. “I’m yours, if you’ll have me.” he said quietly and your heart hurt. You remembered him being clear he was never interested in this sort of thing before, and now he’s opening up. For you._ _

__“Of course, I want you.” you said as lovingly as possible. You cupped his cheeks with both hands and gave him another kiss before a hug. “Thank you for the walk. It was uh, eventful. And a beautiful night too.” You added. He smirked at you and kissed your forehead. “There’s more where that came from. Get some rest, Clover.” he said, before turning and walking down the stairs. You watched after him and waited until he turned the corner before shutting your door and letting out a quiet squeal. You finally had Captain Levi as yours. And all you had to do was make him some tea._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EEEEEEEEE
> 
> What did you guys think?
> 
> S P I C E


	11. The Dinner

You woke up feeling slightly sluggish. You stayed up late last night cleaning the hell out of your house because Levi was coming over for dinner tonight. You weren’t sure when you ended up passing out, but you wish you didn’t wake up. You were having quite the pleasant dream, recreating the other night after your date if you would have just pulled him inside the house and had your way with him. Speaking of which, you pulled your hand out of your pants and rolled your eyes with disgust at the soaked digits. Apparently you were touching yourself in your sleep again, and suddenly Levi’s voice popped in your head. _Filthy._ You blushed and decided you didn’t have to wait to sleep to continue your thoughts. 

Not too long after, you were right back to cleaning. You weren’t going to clean up yourself until this house was spotless, and you were sweating in the autumn air filling your house. Upon cleaning everything, you were also finding all sorts of junk that you figured you could spend time sorting through and getting rid of. You had a bell hooked up downstairs in case anyone came into your shop looking for something, so you knew when you were needed. Until then, you wanted to impress Levi with trying to bring your house to his standards of cleanliness. 

The bell jingled and you looked up. “Shit!” you whispered to yourself. “I’ll be right there!” You called as you bounded down the stairs, careful not to fall. Immediately you wished you just closed shop for the day as you saw Kevin standing at the counter, in a business suit and a smirk on his face. “Good morning there, cutie.” he said, and you shuddered. “Please, refrain from calling me pet names from now on.” you said, wiping your hands from dust and dirt before taking your spot behind the counter. “How Can I help you today Kevin?” you questioned, resigning to a complete professional attitude. 

“Aw Clover, don’t be like that. You know I’m here to woo you.” Your eyes locked with his, yours showing extreme boredom. “Kevin, I am taken. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m very sure I explained several times I wasn’t interested.” You were surprised he was even here. You haven’t seen him in about a week. His hair swoosh had gotten longer too, which pissed you off the more you looked at it. His face fell into a frown. “And who is the supremely lucky man who I need to compete with?” Your eyes narrowed at him then. “There is no competition, Kevin. I never intended to go on a single date with you.” His hazel eyes looked you up and down once more. “Shame. You’re a really good catch. Well I’ll still come around in case it doesn’t work out, sweets.” He finished with a wink. “Goodbye Kevin!” you called when he left your store. “Fuckin’ asshole.” you swore under your breath.

You looked around your shop before going upstairs, briefly feeling a pang of urgency. After you finished cleaning the house, you needed to sort through your flowers that wouldn’t make it through colder weather. You had a pot of purple and pink pansies already planted waiting to be separated into their own personal pots upon purchase. You also had winterberry bushes on the side of the house, which would start producing soon. It’s where you grew all of the berries you used. Besides the smaller flowers like Snowdrops, you also already planted Camellias and Primroses. You smiled at your baby plants and continued back upstairs.

____________________________________________________________________________

It was dark now, therefore you already had dinner going. As the minutes passed by you were growing more anxious waiting on Levi to show up. You two were officially each other’s and you realized you didn’t know him that well yet for being romantically involved, yet sexual acts have already been committed. You briefly wondered if that meant you were a bad person because you moved too fast. 

The smell of cooking meat and potatoes filled the house and you were growing more and more hungry by the minute. You wanted to impress your new boyfriend and so buying meat on a random day was worth it. You were wearing a dark red dress with sleeves coming down to your forearms, and the hem flowing out around your mid-thigh. Risque but elegant. It was a scooped collar, exposing your neck and the very top of your cleavage. There was also a black lace pattern cinched around the waist. You weren’t wearing any shoes, and walking barefoot around your house as you cooked. At least the floors were clean enough for it. You had hoped you looked nice enough.

As you were placing plates and glasses on the table, there was a knock on the door and your heart almost leapt out of your mouth. You tried to smooth your dress out of any wrinkles before you walked over to open the door and let your guest in. You smiled upon immediately seeing Levi and stepped to the side. “Come on in!” you said enthusiastically. He stepped in and shut the door behind him, and set down a paper bag on the table. You eyed it and pointed to it. “Whatchya got there?” you asked with a sly smile, hoping it was something good. He shook his head and walked up to you. “You’ll see. You look...amazing.” he said with eyebrows raised. He was taking in your dress and you noticed his eyes hover longer in some places than others. “You look so handsome as always.” you said, blushing as you took the sight of him in as well. His hair looked so soft and fell on both sides of his face. He was wearing a black long sleeve button up, and tan pants with his black dress shoes. You could have drooled at how dressy he always looked. 

You wanted to kiss him badly, but held yourself back. You already were feeling self conscious about letting him touch you and getting off with him and at the thought of him several times. You didn’t want to move too fast or make your relationship about the sex. His grey eyes watched yours, trying to read what you were thinking about. Deciding to leave it alone, he turned to your wood stove and smelled the air. “You cleaned.” he simply said, and you laughed at him. “How the heck can you tell? But yes, I have been cleaning all day. Trying to live up to your standards, which I hear, are very high.” He smiled at you and started taking things out of the bag. “You’ll learn what my expectations of cleanliness are, in due time.” He said. You walked over next to him and curiously watched to see what he had brought over. 

He pulled out a dark green bottle with crimson colored liquid inside of it. _Oooo wine!_ You haven’t had wine in quite some time. Levi also pulled out a loaf of deep brown bread, which you assumed was rye bread. “Getting fancy.” you commented, picking up the bread and setting it to the side of the table. At least you had a bread knife handy, and you brought it over to the table to lay beside it. Levi watched you and had so many thoughts running through his head. It was hard for him to question you, or to snap and belittle you like he does to his cadets. It was just his usual nature. He’s been a soldier for quite a while and to suddenly break down into romance was a little difficult for him. Doesn’t mean he isn’t trying, however. You looked at him with a sincere smile and it made him think that he wasn’t doing such a terrible job. 

“Dinner is almost done, what would you like to do until then?” You asked, becoming aware that you didn’t have company over often, so you really had nothing entertaining to do. Levi looked around, remembering he already had a tour once, and realized he had yet to see one room. His eyes found yours again and he folded his arms across his chest. “I have yet to see your bedroom.” he stated. “Eh?” you asked, raising your eyebrows. “I uh, you want to see that mess? Heh, it’ll be boring, nothing impressive.” you said, deflecting it as much as possible. “Tch, then I’ll go look myself.” he said, and before you could stop him he was already walking down the hallway. “L-Levi!” you called, walking in after him. He didn’t step far into the room before ogling, and your face heated up with embarrassment. 

You both looked around silently as your boyfriend took in your mess. Your regular casual clothes were tossed into half open dresser drawers, only your dresses were hanging on a bar in the closet. You also had several flower pots littered through your room. Some had dirt for starters, while most are growing your tea plants for your winter stock. Only a few were stacked in a corner, fully empty. You didn’t spend much time in your own room other than for sleeping, and even then it wasn’t all the time. You tried to keep a low fire going every night in your room to keep a good temperature for the plants, but it was always too stuffy for you to sleep comfortably. Unless your body was laying sprawled out and you were practically naked.

Your eyes looked nervously at the man standing beside you. He then spoke up, making you swallow anxiously. “What, is your whole life plants?” he scoffed, turning to look at you. You rolled your eyes and shoved his shoulder a little, happy that’s all he had to say about the situation he was looking at. “I’m a florist, Levi, what do you want from me?” you asked, going to inspect some of the leaves on the nearest pot. “And you know, you shouldn’t complain when I was planning on using this room’s tea plants for your own reserve.” He then looked at you, with what looked like a hint of impressiveness. You smirked and then waved your hands behind him. “Lets go, I need to take dinner out, and I’m not leaving you in my room to be a pervert.” You said, ushering him back into the hallway. “What did you say? I’m not the one who literally came all over my fingers the other day in the public park-” 

“Hey!” you called out, eyes wide. Him bringing it up so nonchalantly made your stomach flip flop. It was such a new experience, you were surprised at yourself for easily getting so wound up from it. He grinned at you and you stuck your tongue out in return. Your nose picked up the smell of the skin of the rabbit you were making and you quickly went into the kitchen to grab it. Taking it out of the wood stove, it was sizzling and perfectly crisped on top. You smiled, trying not to drool at the meat, since it’s been so long since you’ve had any. Levi stood at the table, seemingly hesitating. You set the hot tray down on pot holders at the table and motioned for him to sit down, indicating you would serve him. You were raised to be very hospitable. 

The rye bread would serve as a good filler with the meat, and you had one last surprise. You took out a pitcher from your kitchen’s dark box and set it on the table next to the glasses. Levi eyed it, wondering what it could be. You also had a bowl with some wild berries inside that you set on along with the rest of the meal. It wasn’t much, but you tried to do something different since you didn’t want to always feed him your usual potato meal creations. He seemed like he would be more used to better, more diverse food selections. Although now that you remember, Kory mentioned the soldiers always ate gross field rations, which usually were some sort of crackers. Maybe not then.

Levi helped you plate the food and you both started eating at the same time. The silence that fell around the table was filled with moving forks and occasional sipping. It was nice, however you were nervous you might have been boring him, and maybe he was waiting on you to start a conversation. But on the other side of the coin, he could be displeased at you interrupting the quiet mood with small talk. You glanced up at him from your plate and he was already watching you, eyes calm and collected. “What?” you asked, blinking in slight surprise at his gaze. “You’ve barely eaten.” he said, setting his own fork down and pointing at your half touched plate of food for emphasis. 

You looked down at your plate and realized you indeed have barely touched food since you sat down. You must have subconsciously slowed your eating, maybe trying not to seem too eager to eat meat in front of him. It was a rare oddity after all. You looked back up at him and smirked. “Concerned for me? Maybe I’m feeling peckish and want to eat later.” You said, playfully being difficult. He raised an eyebrow. “Don’t believe that but whatever.” he said and he took a long sip of his wine. Your glass was already empty, and you shamelessly refilled it. Then topped your partner’s glass as well. “So what would you like to do tonight?” You said, hoping he had something planned that wasn’t at your dreary home. He looked like he was on his last bite and he sat back a tad in his chair. “Well. I wanted to tell you that we had a scout mission tomorrow. It shouldn’t take too long, it’s just something based in town. So I’m not sure how long I should stay…” he ended, watching your reaction. 

You understood. It was his line of work, his duty. And even though you recently just started to see each other, you felt scared. He hasn’t gone out since Kory died. You were trying not to let petty panic set in. Your eyes found his and he seemed to understand your unspoken concerns. Levi stood up and walked over to you, hand outstretched. You took it, curious as to what he was doing. You stood up and he pulled you into him, and you wrapped your arms around his waist, eyes shut. The silent comfort didn’t help your worries but reminded you that in this time, he was here and doing everything he could to make you happy. You looked at him, basically eye level. 

“I know you’ll be safe. And you’ll kick some ass, too.” you added with a cheesy grin. His lips quirked at that and he pressed a soft kiss to your lips in agreement. Instantly you wanted to elaborate on it, and you pressed your body into him more, earning a hand on your waist to bring you closer, and one cupping your cheek to cradle your face. You brought one hand up to slide through the back of Levi’s hair, and another was pressed on his hips. Some thoughts flashed through your mind as you briefly recalled him getting you off the other night and you wanted to return the act. You pulled away to giggle, getting a questioning look from Levi.

You broke away from the embrace and linked your hand in his, and led him to the couch. You then gently pushed his shoulder and he still seemed like he didn’t know what was going on. Still, he fell onto the couch with quiet amusement. You were starting to feel nerves hit you as you wanted to do nothing but please him, and you would be showing off skills you didn’t know if you had or not. You gently sat on your knees and reached for the fastenings on his pants and only then did Levi catch on.

“What are you doing?” he asked with a redundant question. You looked up at him and continued to undo his pants and he raised his hips to help you pull them down slightly. They came to rest on his thighs and that was enough for his cock to show you that he was anticipating this. You licked your lips and leaned forward to place a wet kiss to the tip, and grasped it at the base to hold it straight up. His grey eyes watched you intently as you opened your mouth to start to take him in. Closing your eyes to avoid any embarrassing eye contact, you continued to slowly slide him in and out of your mouth. Your mouth muscles needed to get used to the sheer size of what was inside, and you realized he was much bigger than you could've expected. It was pretty hot. 

Suddenly as you went further down another time, you felt a hand slide into your hair and grip, pulling a moan out of you around his entire dick, which made him moan in response. _Fuck that was hot_. It made you want to suck him faster, feeling your saliva coat him for easier movement. Your eyes fluttered open to look up at him just to see his reaction, but once they locked with his, you felt the need to keep eye contact. He was starting to breathe a little heavier and you realized what that meant. It only encouraged you to add more force with your cheeks, and you brought a hand up to help pump since you didn’t want to take him in as much as you have been. You wanted to be daring and leave room for him to-

“Look at me, I want to see those beautiful eyes.” he growled out, leaning towards you. You could feel the wetness between your legs dripping. How was this turning you on so much? Your eyes never left his as you let your tongue start to brush the underside of his cock, teasing and urging him to finish. “So fucking good.” he said, one hand still gripping the side of your head through your hair, and the other now holding your unoccupied hand. You moaned, desperately starting to need something between your legs. The vibrations added into everything else you were doing pushed Levi, and he started to spill into your warm mouth, hips stuttering. 

It was a new feeling, and one you weren’t sure if you liked, but to push yourself all the way, you swallowed what he put in you and immediately stuck your tongue out. “Salty.” You said and laughed, wiping the side of your mouth. You almost fell backwards as Levi sprung off the couch and grabbed your chin, roughly kissing you and taking your breath away. “Levi, wait!” you squeaked as he gently pushed you to the wooden floor. Rough hands found their way up the sides of your legs under your dress and quickly yanked down the black underwear you were wearing. “Levi oooohhh.” you were cut off as you felt fingers inside of you once again. Two slender fingers pumped inside of you, and you moaned loudly as this was the friction you craved while blowing your boyfriend.

“Dirty girl, taking my seed greedily with your mouth then swallowing like it was nothing.” he growled beside your ear, then kissed it, trailing them around your ears, neck, and collar bone. You felt him move past your chest and abdomen and once you felt his head peek under the hem of your dress, your eyes flew open. “No! Please, you don’t ah, oh fuck.” you said, head thumping back down on the floor. His hot breath coated your pussy as he placed kisses along it, and slid his fingers out, just to keep you stretched open. His tongue lapped the surrounding area to make his way inside, pulling long shudders out of you. It felt fantastic but you were already so close. Blowing him really worked you up, apparently. 

His warm wet tongue found your clit and you immediately came, feeling your orgasm finally break the wall it was hiding behind. A hand gripped his black locks as he held your hips down and licked up all of the liquid he could from you, as you shuddered and moaned. After a few seconds of loving kisses, he returned out from underneath your dress, face glistening. “That was fast.” he commented, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. You sat up, albeit feeling a little lightheaded, and gaped at him. “What do you expect? You just look so friggin hot when we’re on the couch, and you were saying things to me…” and you suddenly felt very exposed. You closed your legs and flattened your dress out. “Was it...was it good?” you asked, voice small with uncertainty. Levi scoffed and sat up, refastening his pants. You looked up, wondering what that meant. “What do you think, dumbass?” he said, grabbing your hands and helping you back up. Your face reddened, and you slapped his shoulder. The smile that was plastered on your face told him that you now knew your answer.

The rest of the night was filled with you finishing your dinner, now having lost lots of energy. Once everything was cleaned and picked up, you changed and cleaned yourself up, and with your blanket wrapped around your shoulders, you cuddled up next to Levi on the couch before he left, wanting a few more minutes to your date night.

Once he heard you sleeping, he gently got up and left a pillow under your head, and made sure you were tucked in. He clicked his tongue not wanting you to sleep on a couch and on an actual bed, but he also didn’t want to wake you either. Deciding to just leave you where you were, he found a pen and what looked like spare paper, and wrote you a note. He placed one more kiss to the top of your head before heading out, making sure the door was locked behind him. Levi hoped every time he left for a mission, you wouldn’t have to worry sick about him. He was humanity’s strongest soldier, and now that he found someone personal that he wanted to protect, he was gonna cut every last titan down to bits if he needed to, just to come back to you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the break in updates, I've been getting ready to move and I was sick, and life is going to be quite stressful for me for a bit. I hope the longer than usual chapter makes up for it! :)


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